


Honor Bound: Tea Time

by StarvingLunatic



Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Geisha, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Ninjas, Attempted Sexual Assault, Drama, F/F, Flashbacks, Japanese Culture, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Martial Arts, Ninja, Novella, Rare Pairings, Romance, Sexual Content, Side Story, Wordcount: 30.000-50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-23
Updated: 2007-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 30,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5470475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarvingLunatic/pseuds/StarvingLunatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Side story to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5001259">Honor Bound</a>. So, what exactly was the deal between Betty and Vivian in HB? See the answer to that and flashbacks that show how they got to where they are. BetViv? Maybe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own these characters. Disney does.
> 
> A/N: takes place after “[Honor Bound](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5001259)” ended.

Honor Bound: Tea Time

Director Betty, the head of the Shogun’s secret police, the director of espionage, and well-respected noblewoman was doing something incredibly wrong. It was actually illegal, not that she would arrest herself of course. It was something she did at least once a month, but she knew she should actually do it more often. She really wished she could do it more often, but she always had so much work to do. She headed toward a certain teahouse as the sun set, highlighting the sun in wonderful orange.

The air was calm and still. She should have moved faster. She should have arrived, so the sunset could be viewed, appreciated, but she had to finish work. It would not matter, though. The important thing was arriving, so she continued on. 

She had taken the walk so many times she probably could navigate the path with her eyes closed and still avoid being seen, whether she stuck to the rooftops or dipped through the alleyways. The path did not matter.

The odd thing for her was that she could not recall the first time she had made the journey. She usually remembered most things, but the first time she made the trip escaped her. Perhaps because it was so immaterial to things. What mattered was not when it had begun, but that it continued. What she could easily remember was the first time she met the lovely creature that she was on her way to see.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

The mission outline had seemed simple enough to the seventeen-year-old Betty. She was a ninja, working in a section of the Shogun’s secret police. She had gotten the job through her father and his acquaintance with the Shogun. Her father was close enough with the Shogun that she had been a childhood playmate of his daughter, whom she still knew, which had its good and bad points.

Her father was quite proud of her so far, which was actually something she was accustomed to. She excelled under his guidance in everything she did and he just beamed whenever she succeeded. He often told people she was his “favorite son”; he was joking, of course. Well, for the most part, he was joking.

It just so happened she followed her father’s instructions and walked in his shadow better than her twin brother, which was why he told people she was his favorite son. Her brother was closer with their mother than their father. Their mother cuddled him when he failed while their father was a stern man. Her brother seemed to buckle under pressure while she typically thrived under it and her father loved that about her. Despite that fact, when it as all said and done, she knew her brother was going to inherit their clan from their father because that was going to be her mother’s deepest desire and he would do anything to make her mother happy.

At the moment, Betty hid in the room of a teahouse, clinging to the ceiling. Her onyx eyes set sharply, scanning the room; she had both of her eyes. She waited for a man who had stolen some very important documents from the Shogun’s own castle. She was impressed someone was so skilled to enter and exit the castle in one piece, but she was not going to fail her mission, which was to capture him and retrieve those papers at all cost.

She was told she would know the man when she laid eyes on him because he would have hands and feet like that of a monkey. That was rather disturbing thought, but at least they were features that definitely stood out. He had stolen a few documents referring to a mystical blade. She heard from a very reliable source that the thief was going to be in the teahouse and in this very room. All she had to do was wait.

She was quite focused and intent on her purpose, having been up there for close to an hour already. She was still just as ready to pounce when the shoji slid open as she had been an hour ago, though. She thought her target finally entering the room, but she soon found out otherwise.

A blond girl was callously flung into the area. The girl groaned as she hit the hardwood floor and a short, creepy looking man followed her in. The blond girl turned to him with a look of sheer fear and panic in her wide, blue eyes. The man slid the door closed and stormed deeper into the room after the girl. He appeared to have normal hands and feet, so he was no one important to the hidden occupant of the room. 

“Please,” the girl whimpered and crawled backwards. Tears gathered in her eyes as the man pounced.

Betty watched the scene from her space on the ceiling, conflicted with what she should do — assist the young lady or remain hidden to do her task. The girl struggled as the man was now on top of her, trying to yank her kimono open. She cried and kicked, but he seemed quite intent.

“No, please!” the girl begged while making it difficult for him to rip her top open, but he was winning out in the contest. 

Betty’s muscles flexed, dying to drop from her hiding place and save that poor blond, especially since it was clear that the man was going to win. He was a small fellow, but she was a tiny thing, too. Each sob from her mouth felt like a punch to the gut for the shinobi (ninja) and made her muscles itch to do something.

But, Betty had a job to do. She was supposed to wait for the thief to show up. He was going to come to this room, she had been promised that. So, she needed to hold her position, no matter what. She had to do her mission. _So, hold it together_.

Her thoughts were disrupted as the girl cried out again, louder and more desperate than before. The cry cut through her. Suddenly, her mind could not even recall she had a job to do, but she continued to hold her position. She stared with greater interest in what was happening below her, though. _Fight him off_ , she begged in her head. She knew that was not going to happen, though.

The blond’s kimono was now torn open and the little man groped her small breasts, delight dancing in his beady little eyes as he feasted on the sight and feel of the girl. Her tears now slid down her cheeks. She turned her head to see how much he was enjoying his own actions. 

“Please, no. Don’t,” the girl still implied him, whimpering helpless as she tried to wiggle away.

The man was unmoved. The girl seemed to tire, struggling less and less now. Betty could not take her eyes off of her the spectacle now, knowing what was coming.

The mission was important, but her mind began begging questions of her. What if that was her friend? What if that was her sister? Would she stay in place or would she act? Well, that was someone’s sister, friend, or daughter. It did not matter whose, just that she was important to someone somewhere and they would want her to help. Hell, that girl would want her to help. Betty could not in good conscience just stay up there and play the silent witness to such a heinous crime.

Betty dropped down from the ceiling like some avenging angel, complete with a look of righteous indignation. She wasted no time kicking the man off of the girl before he could achieve his ambition. He grunted as he slammed into the back wall and Betty stood in front of the girl as if to protect her from another assault, should he be foolish enough to try one. 

“I think she said no,” Betty commented in a dangerous tone she used against enemies to let them know they should be running.

He was not that smart and he stayed put while turning his eerie eyes toward her. Malicious intent was glazed over in his orbs as he looked over the sudden intruder. Betty stood her ground unfazed and ready. She had seen more disturbing and frightening sights in her own home.

“Who the hell are you?” the decidedly creepy man demanded with a growl in his voice.

“Who I am isn’t any of your concern. Getting out of here alive should be the only thing on your mind,” she replied coolly.

It would seem that he agreed with that and looked at the door he had closed moments ago. He then turned his attention back to her, as if wondering if she would allow him to make it that far. She really had no intention of doing that because she was rather offended by his actions.

He seemed to know he had insulted her and it would have been impossible for him to make it anywhere with her around. So, he pulled out three shuriken and let them fly. Betty dodged them with no problem and charged him. She hit him with a lightning fast combination of three hits, which knocked him unconscious. She then turned her attention to the girl. 

“You okay?” Betty asked the slightly disheveled blond, who had fixed her torn kimono as best she could. 

She just nodded mutely as a reply. Tears still poured down her face and she had the presence of mind to wipe them. Handling this girl and still accomplishing her mission would take finesse, which Betty liked to think she had.

“That’s good. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you,” Betty tried to assure the girl, who was visibly shaking. 

Betty walked over to the girl. The blond stepped back, obviously afraid. Unbeknownst to the ninja, the girl assumed she was a male and at the moment, she was not having the best of luck with the male gender. The short haircut, which was done to save Betty from getting caught in a fight by her hair, worked against her along with her padded black uniform.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the onyx-eyed female repeated. 

The blond did not say anything, but she pointed behind Betty. The ninja turned around just in time to see more shuriken coming her way. She dodged those with ease. This man was not very skilled at accurately throwing the projectiles. Betty did not even wonder how he had recovered so quickly. She just charged him to take care of him again. In that clobbering, she was too distracted to react properly as the shoji slid open. 

“Filthy shogunate inu (dog/spy),” a voice growled.

“Look out!” the blond hollered, hoping to help her savior. 

Betty turned around just in time to find out that the new person in the room was much better at throwing shuriken than the man she was currently beating on. She took a throwing star to the shoulder, arm, chest, and to the eye. She merely hissed in pain while locking her good eye on her assailant.

The newcomer laughed before running off, thinking he had taken care of the government agent. While he did not assume the ninja dead, he was certain the sloppy shinobi would not be coming after him anyway. He had been spying on her while she was dealing with that little maiko and her pathetic client.

Betty had gotten a good look at his feet, which looked just like monkey paws. It dawned on her that she had just been ambushed by her own prey. _Kuso_ (damn it!/shit!), she screamed in her mind and did not think twice about taking off after the thief, despite her injuries, especially the one to her eye.

The blond was left confused on what just happened. What she did know was that she had just been saved and her savior had probably just lost an eye from interfering. She was not sure if she should follow the ninja or if she should just get out of the room. It did not even take her a second to go after her savior. After all, the warrior might need help considering the injuries “he” had just sustained. 

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

Vivian prepared a room for when Betty arrived. She had dinner ready along with some tea and some senbei (rice crackers) since Betty usually enjoyed having those with her tea. She hoped they would be able to get to the dinner because there was always a chance Betty would have to run off, which was why she had the tea and senbei set out first. The warrior would at least make the attempt to finish her tea and the crackers before running off if she had to do so.

“But, I hope she stays,” Vivian sighed. It had been far too long.

Vivian dressed in one of her best formal kimonos, even though only one person would see it. It just so happened the one person who would see it was the only person that she required to see her in it. The lovely, and quite expensive, attire had actually been given to her as a gift by this person. It was made of a fine silk and she wore it well, making it look just as expensive as it was.

“Maybe once she sees me in this, it’ll help convince her to stay for a while,” Vivian considered, running a finger over the pink sleeve of her kimono.

She always liked to have everything perfect for the woman who had saved her so many years ago. The woman whom she had assumed was a man for quite a while from when they had first met until she learned otherwise. Remembering such a thing actually made her blush from embarrassment.

She supposed it was a good thing she had thought Betty was a boy the first time they met. Had she known Betty was a female, it might have been possible she would not feel the way that she did now about the brunette. But, then again, maybe there was no stopping the emotions she held for the one-eyed warrior. Especially since she thought it was her fault Betty had lost that eye because the ninja had been protecting her instead of doing her job. The fact that Betty had put herself in harm’s way for her, had saved her, and protected her might have been all she needed for her feelings to bloom into what they were now.

She often thought about how different things would have been if Betty had just stayed hiding on the ceiling that fateful night. She would have more than likely been ravished, which was a fate she was supposed to accept anyway. Her geisha mother had sold her virginity to that man… _Phen_. His name in her mind caused her to shudder in disgust.

She could not imagine how she would have been if he had done what he had paid for. Part of her considered she might not have been able to go on living if he had gotten his way. She was thankful for Betty, even though she often felt so much guilt over Betty’s eye, not to mention the other injuries she suffered that night.

“She’s so selfless, even now,” Vivian smiled a little, even though her selflessness was part of the problem with them not seeing each other often.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

Vivian was not an athlete by far, but she was fifteen and had strong, youthful legs. So, she was able to keep up, as best anyone could in a long kimono, with the ninja who saved her and whoever it was that injured the kindly shinobi. She had to sneak out of the teahouse to keep up, but the pair made getting out easy by showing her the way, as they also tried to keep a low profile as well. She almost lost them in the dark as they took to fighting on rooftops while continuing to flee.

The fighting was fast pace, which put her ninja savior at a disadvantage since “he” was already injured. Vivian continued to follow them, thinking she might be able to be of some help to her savior. She was unable to see most of the battle, but soon found out who was winning. She watched in horror as her rescuer was dropped from the roof and landed on a pile of garbage. Vivian rushed to the ninja’s side.

“Are you all right?” the blond inquired in a worried voice.

Betty did not respond and tackled Vivian back, saving the apprentice geisha for the second time that night. It turned out her opponent had let loose some more shuriken, which the blond had not seen coming. Vivian ended up on her butt while Betty immediately turned around to return fire with some kunai. The thief was caught in the air, trying to come down on them, but he made himself an easy target for her to hit, even with one eye.

The thief let out a screech like a monkey as her throwing knives ripped into him. He landed, blood dripping onto the ground, and Betty pulled her short sword while standing in front of Vivian. Betty looked rather fierce, even with the blood dripping from her eye like a thick crimson tear. There glare in her remaining eye was haunting and her muscles were tight, ready to spring into action at any moment. Her shoulders rose and fell as she panted and waited for her opponent to make a move. She appeared almost animalistic as she stood her ground, seemingly to protect the blond.

“Just hand over the scroll, youngster,” the thief said in a menacing, but dignified tone. He held out his hand-paw.

“I stole it fair and square,” Betty remarked with a demonic smirk. She had lifted the documents off of him when they went back and forth on the rooftops, but that was only half of her mission. She had to bring him in, dead or alive. “Now give up,” she ordered in a dead serious tone. If he did not surrender, she had no problem with dragging in his half-monkey corpse.

“Give it back,” he commanded, hand still out.

Betty did not respond. She was not in a talkative mood anymore. She wanted the mission over before she ended up dying from blood loss or passing out from the pain that she currently blocked from her mind as best she could. She eyed the thief carefully, waiting to see what he wanted to do. He seemed to make his choice, attacking her because she appeared to be on her last leg. He was about to be unpleasantly surprised.

The thief went at Betty and she defended against him better than most. He hated to think of how she could counter him if she was totally healthy. She glanced back at Vivian to make sure she was all right. She could not help wondering why the girl was there, but she did not have the time to ask at the moment. She just knew that if she and that girl were going to make it out of the alleyway alive, she needed to be at the top of her game. So, she fought the thief with the same furiousness as a wounded animal would fight a predator.

Before long, it was clear the thief needed to retreat or he would regret it. The monkey man took off and Betty collapsed on the hard, dirt ground when he was out of sight. Her breathing was ragged as she painted the street with her scarlet life force from several wounds. Vivian ran to the ninja’s side in a flash once again.

“Senshi-sama (warrior), are you all right?” Vivian practically cried. Her concern made her voice close to shrill. She put her hands out, wanting to touch the warrior, hold onto her savior, but she was frightened of doing more damage.

The brunette coughed. “Fine. You?” _I’m in so much goddamn trouble_ , she thought. She had failed her mission since the thief had escaped. Her captain and her father were going to be extremely disappointed in her. She could already feel the disapproval and shame burned her flesh.

“Fine, of course. Let me help,” Vivian offered. Before Betty could protest, the blond beauty tore at her kimono to make a bandage for Betty’s wounds. She quickly wrapped some cloth around Betty’s injured eye.

“Arigato (thanks),” the ninja whispered.

A tiny smile tried to work its way onto Betty’s face. She was actually unaccustomed to getting help from strangers and she was not sure how she felt about it. She felt a little warm from it and looking into those kind blue eyes did not help. She pulled away.

“I’ve got to go,” she said hastily and then she dashed off to at least return the stolen texts. She just left Vivian in the middle of the dark street on her own.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

“Anata (darling)*,” Vivian said with a bright smile as Betty entered the room.

It was like all the treasure of the world was just bestowed on the blond. She called Betty “anata” as a joke and also as a term of endearment. It was mostly a throwback to when she assumed the older female was a man.

“Nikko-chan (sunshine),” Betty replied with a small smile of her own. It was about as happy as the hard-worked warrior would ever look and her current companion knew that.

Vivian wasted no time going up to Betty and embracing her tightly. It was as if all was right in the world with Betty in her arms. _Oh, how I’ve missed her_ , Vivian thought. The idea was conveyed through her hug.

Betty felt the same about the sun-kissed blond in her arms as she returned the embrace. A month was much too long to be apart, even though neither of them would say that aloud. Vivian would chastise the brunette over it, though. It was almost like their little routine and while Betty disliked being reprimanded it, it was nice to have a routine with someone. It was nice that someone cared and desired to see her.

“Where have you been?” Vivian demanded as she broke the embrace, pulling away from the warrior. She gave Betty a stern look.

“There was a smuggling ring that required my attention,” Betty replied honestly, even though she knew that would be taken as an excuse and nothing else. Still, she had to say something or things would just be worse.

Vivian threw her hands up. “More work. You’re just going to work yourself to death. Work, work, work, work. What about me?” Vivian pointed to herself for a moment and she reached into her kimono sleeve.

“I’m here now,” Betty pointed out, knowing what was coming. She braced herself.

“Unacceptable!” the blond huffed as she pulled out her fan. She slapped Betty in the forehead with it, striking the older female soundly enough for it to echo throughout the room.

“Ow!” the one-eyed woman complained as she put her hand to the now-red space in the center of her forehead.

“Now, sit down,” Vivian commanded, as if she was angry. They both knew that it was just a front.

Betty did not argue or protest. She let Vivian be forceful with her, maybe because subconsciously she felt like she needed someone to be stern with her. Vivian was in agreement, someone did have to be severe with Betty or she would work herself to death as far as the blond was concerned. Betty did not know what was best for her in Vivian’s opinion and she was there to make sure Betty stopped, took a breath, and enjoyed life a bit. She was there for Betty to see there was more to life than her work and battle.

She also wanted Betty to know there was someone who cared about her just for her. It was not about what Betty could do for Vivian. Vivian just liked being around Betty, who knew that.

Betty strolled over to the table that Vivian set up. She saw the tea out, but she knew not to touch anything. She was expected to just sit around now that she was in Vivian’s presence. If she touched anything, she would get smacked with a fan again and it actually hurt a lot more than most people would think. Vivian wielded her fan just as well as a samurai wielded a katana.

Vivian hurried, as best she could in a long kimono, to the other side of the table. There was no real formality between them when they were alone, aside from the fact that Vivian was to do everything while Betty was expected to lounge around. So, Vivian just poured the tea, but she did not serve it. Betty could guess what the hold up was.

“I made this little guy just for when you were going to visit,” Vivian said as she sat a new chahakobi-ningyou (mechanical tea-serving dolls) on the table.

Betty smiled in an amused manner as she got a look at the new doll the blond had created. The doll was dressed in a little violet kimono with face paint like a maiko. It was rather adorable, like many of the little chahakobi-ningyou that Vivian made, even though she had been known to create some frightening little dolls when the mood struck her. Sometimes, she even used them to play pranks on her geisha or on Betty.

“I see you’ve kept busy,” Betty commented.

“Well, I must do something with my hands during the nights you leave me alone,” Vivian replied.

Betty could feel a hot blush on her cheeks, but she kept her cool. “We both know my presence has never once stopped you from tinkering.”

Blue eyes rolled, but Vivian gave her a little smile. “You like my tinkering.”

Betty could not deny that. Vivian was very into mechanics, despite her current vocation. She was very brilliant point blank, but especially in that area and Betty had tried many times in the past to get Vivian to leave the geisha world to work with her. Vivian would give her a coy smile and refuse with false shyness and modesty, as if she knew Betty thought that was cute.

“You like my mind,” Vivian continued on.

“Well, it has its uses,” Betty teased.

The chocolate-haired warrior had actually brought Vivian one of the dolls that she had confiscated from Drakken in his failed coup. She made sure Vivian understood there were no strings attached to it. It was not brought because she wanted Vivian to tell her what it did or anything. It was just something for Vivian to play with and the blond thoroughly enjoyed the little toy, easily figuring out how it worked, taking it apart, rebuilding it, and all sorts of other things. Betty was just pleased Vivian had fun with it, even though the blond made sure not to explain how the doll worked because she thought it would just make Betty run off and go do some more work.

“Is this the only thing you’ve worked on recently?” Betty asked, reaching out just to touch the tea-serving doll.

“It was enough.” This let Betty know Vivian was not particularly stressed lately, which was good.

Vivian put a cup on the chahakobi-ningyou’s tray and it waddled over to Betty. Betty smiled even though she knew that would happen. She reached for the cup, but was halted.

“Wait one moment, anata,” Vivian said.

The one-eyed warrior did as she was ordered and was shocked as the doll bowed to her and presented her the cup. She could not help laughing once she got over her surprise. Vivian smiled fondly, pleased to hear such a delighted sound coming from brunette. She recalled the first time she had ever heard Betty laugh and even then, it sounded like heavenly music to her.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

Vivian could not get the ninja off of her mind after she returned to the teahouse she was bound to. Not only had that shinobi saved her from being ravished, but also stood to protect her from that strange enemy. Now, just the thought the ninja made her blush and caused a warm feeling to spread through her. She could not figure out why that was, but she considered it was because she was pleased she had not been harmed thanks to the ninja’s actions. She just knew she wanted to see the warrior once more, speak with the warrior once more, thank “him” for all “he” had done, and she was going to get her way, despite her circumstances.

“I will not let this teahouse control me,” she muttered to herself. The consequences be damned.

Vivian was far from stupid. In fact, she was often told she was too smart for her own good. So, it was very easy for her to figure out a way out of the teahouse and she was confident she would be able to make her way out of the district, too. The hardest thing she had to do was find out who that ninja was and where she would be able to find the warrior, but she was in the best place for gathering information and her mind was focused on that task.

-8-8-8-8-

“Shut up,” young Betty snorted in annoyance for what seemed like the umpteenth time from her space in the corner of her room on her futon. She was covered in bandages, even wrapped around her head because of her wounded eye. Her so-called friend was getting on her nerves with all of the laughing and giggling at her expense.

“I can’t believe it. You lost your eye because of a hot blond. Where the hell are your priorities?” a fourteen-year-old Shego inquired, still getting in a few chuckles.

Shego had already been a pale green for two years now and was pretty comfortable with it, at least when she was in Betty’s company. Her jet-black hair was long and loose, like a waterfall of ink, which was the way she preferred it. It gave her something to hide behind when people stared at her thanks to her mint skin color. She was rather slender, almost lanky, so her kimono hung off of her a bit awkwardly. She hoped she would fill out sometime soon.

“I couldn’t just let her get raped,” Betty argued in a huff. It was nothing about falling for a “hot blond” as Shego continued to insist. She was just helping a female in need, so she would not have to live with the trauma of being violated and she would not have to live with the fact that she could have done something, but had chosen not to. She did not need that kind of guilt, after all.

“You say that now, but in your head, you know why you did what you did. She was cute and you always fall for a cute face,” Shego teased with a smug look on her face.

Betty scoffed in disbelief. “You were never cute,” she muttered, quite seriously.

Shego glanced away, quietly indignant thanks to that insult. Three years ago such words would have rolled right off of her, but now that she was green and sporting some claws, any little thing about her appearance could set off her now literally fiery temper. Not too long ago, she probably would have tackled Betty for her words and tried to tear her throat out with her bare hands, but she was getting back into their old flow of taunting each other in whatever way that came to mind. Besides, physically fighting with an injured Betty held little appeal to her. 

Before Shego could think of a good come back, they both heard noise coming from down the hall. Betty looked ready to get up, thinking her stupid husband had come home. He was supposed to be away, visiting relatives or something. She had never been too keen on listening to him when he was talking, or mumbling as she looked at it, so she was not quite sure why he had left. Shego halted her with a hand motion and stood up.

“I’ll go see what’s going on. You just lay there and be stupid over a pair of baby blue eyes,” Shego remarked.

“I’m never telling you anything again,” Betty grumbled. She knew explaining her failed mission to Shego, who liked to live ninja missions vicariously through her because her father would not allow her out on such assignments until she was fifteen, was going to be a big mistake. She had just assumed it would take sometime to come back and bite her in the ass. Shego just could not get over the fact that the story involved a woman that Betty described quite readily and she remembered more about the girl than the thief surprisingly enough. 

Shego waved her friend off and walked to the door. She poked her out to see what was going on and was rather surprised to see a blond girl struggling with some guards. _It seems Betty-kun wasn’t the only one left impressed with the mission_ , she thought. Shego could not help laughing.

“Hey, you guys can let her go,” Shego called down to the guards. 

The guards knew better than to argue with the green-skinned girl. She stepped back into the room before the intruder could see who had just helped her. The pale female turned to her friend with a wicked smirk on her face.

“What? Who’s out there?” Betty inquired, a bit nervous because of the expression. She thought it might be her father coming to admonish her for failing her mission. She knew he was well aware of her failure, even though she had not debriefed him yet, since he knew everything.

“Your eye,” Shego answered with a laugh before escaping the room out of a secret passageway. She thought the girls could use sometime alone.

Betty was confused for a few seconds before she caught Shego’s meaning. She turned to the door just as Vivian stepped in. She was surprised by the blond’s presence and it would have shown on her face if most of her face was not covered in bandages. She got the chance to fix her expression as Vivian crouched down to slide the door shut.

“Senshi-sama,” Vivian said, bowing down on her hands and knees to the bed-ridden warrior.

“What are you doing here?” Betty asked curiously, fighting off a smile. _Not that I’m upset over your presence_. She was glad to see the girl was all right, or that was what she told herself to avoid examining why her heart felt like it might skip a beat.

“Um…” Vivian, usually quite elegant with words thanks to her line of work she, found herself unable to explain herself for a moment.

Vivian was pleased to see the warrior was all right, in a manner of speaking. The bandages and bed-rest let her know the ninja had probably seen better days. She heard some things suggesting how fine a warrior this ninja was and it hurt to know she was the reason the warrior was laid up.

“I was hoping to see you were all right and to thank you for saving me the other night, senshi-sama,” Vivian finally answered, making sure to remained bowed in the presence of her savior.

“It was no problem,” Betty tried to assure her in a rather nonchalant voice. She did not do what she did for thanks, after all. She did it because it was right.

“Forgive me if this is very forward of me,” Vivian said as it just dawned on her that she was intruding on her savior’s life. She really just needed to see the warrior again. And as she was doing that, her heart began to race, especially when she looked up at the shinobi while keeping her head bowed.

“It is forward of you, but I don’t mind it. You don’t have to bow like that either. It’s all right,” Betty informed the maiko.

“I’d prefer it, senshi-sama,” Vivian replied and that earned a lighthearted laugh from her savior. She was not sure why the warrior laughed at her, but she knew she liked the sound. Her heart sped up just a little more and she stole another glance at her savior.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

“Anata,” Vivian said, breaking the silence they currently enjoyed. Betty sipped her tea and ate senbei in two bites. Dining manners did not seem to be high on her priority list when she was with Vivian, which was fine. Vivian wanted her to let go of her burdens and responsibilities.

“Hmm?” the one-eyed woman replied.

“Whatever happened between you and that weird man you fought on the day we met?” Vivian asked. She had always hoped Betty got revenge against him for taking her eye.

“I never ran into him again, but surprisingly enough, Shego and Kim-dono met up with him when they were coming back to Edo. They said he was oppressing the people working on his land. I’m not sure what happened to him, though. I think Shego said something about his land being confiscated, but I don’t really remember because she was rather flippant while explaining it and only talked about it briefly. I don’t think he was punished the way she wanted him to be or the way I wanted for that matter. I mean, his crimes really don’t mean much to the Shogun,” Betty explained.

Vivian’s brow wrinkled slightly. “Why not? Weren’t you chasing him because of some crime?”

“It was against the late shogun. He had stolen something from the castle, but it wasn’t something very important to this shogun, so I don’t think he cares about it. Besides, the sword he was after is with its proper owner now,” Betty replied.

“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he want to punish someone who stole from his father?” Vivian’s face was slightly scrunched up as she tried to process this. She did not know much about the shogun beyond what Betty saw fit to share with her, but the man made very little sense to her.

“I’m not sure. I don’t understand this shogun much of the time. I’m just trying to do my duty, what was entrusted to me by the late shogun,” Betty replied with a bit a shrug. She would do her job to the best of her ability because a great man, the previous shogun, had given it to her before he died. He had trusted her, a fairly young woman at the time, with such a great honor and she would not let him down. Nor would she disgrace her name or her family. 

“You should retire,” Vivian suggested in her usual, casual tone. Like it was something that hardly mattered or just came to her, even though it was something she deeply desired. This was something she had proposed many times through the years. She wished Betty would retire and then she could have the one-eyed woman all to herself.

“You should move in with me,” Betty countered, just as causally. To her, it would actually make more sense than her retiring already. 

Having Vivian there would certainly make Betty go home a lot more often. It would make home feel more like a home since it was actually her late husband’s house. Well, it was supposed to be his anyway, but he probably would have debated that fact if he were alive. It never felt like she belonged there, which was one of the reasons she tried her best not to be there, even though the servants tried their best to get her there to slow down and take care of herself. Many of those servants had come with her from her home when she married her husband to make sure she was comfortable there. Her servants were a rather loyal lot, adoring her as a kind, compassionate mistress.

Vivian looked away. She used to dream about living in that large manor back when she was younger. She would imagine she would wake up in her love’s arms and they would do whatever it was that lovers did; she really had not figured out what it was they would do back then. It did not really matter to her what they would do as long as she could be with the older female all the time. Now, she could only turn the brunette down whenever the subject was brought up and keep dreaming.

“I would love to…” Vivian spoke in a low voice before she trailed off. 

“But the girls, right?” Betty asked because she knew the line. She had heard it often enough, after all.

“They’re my responsibility,” Vivian pointed out. “They still need me.” 

“You could give the teahouse to one of them, like what happened with you,” Betty countered, even though she understood where her companion was coming from for the most part. She just wished she could have Vivian to herself in some way. 

“Not yet,” Vivian answered. She had inherited the teahouse from her second geisha mother. She had been given to the woman because her first geisha mother owed the second a large debt. Vivian seemed to be the equivalent of that debt, which she was happy for because her second mother was much kinder than the first and they had easily grown to adore each other. When she passed on, Vivian felt like she had lost her real mother. 

“When?” Betty asked, not pressing the issue. She was just curious about it. She shoved another senbei into her mouth after making the inquiry.

“Soon enough, anata. I won’t keep you waiting much longer,” Vivian promised. She knew it made no sense for her to pester and pressure Betty about seeing her more often, but not make any moves her own to be closer to the warrior.

“Then I won’t keep you waiting much longer either,” Betty replied. If Vivian could walk away from her world, then she would do the same. They could hopefully make such sacrifices for each other. It would at least end the ache they felt when longing for each other, yet they both seemed to be hesitating in doing the things they vowed to do. 

“What would we do then?” Vivian asked. She worried, feared really, they would continue this song and dance forever. They would be reincarnated and forced to live the whole disaster for all eternity.

“What we do now, but more often,” Betty answered what seemed to be obvious to her. 

Vivian smiled softly to herself. She would like that. She wondered how long it would take them to do such things. They had been pitching each other the lines for more than a year now and neither seemed closer to keeping the promises, yet they never doubted each other. They did doubt themselves sometimes. 

Vivian often wondered which of her geisha should entrust the teahouse to. Bonnie was at the top of her list, but the girl seemed to care more about herself than the others she worked with. Vivian wanted someone who would take care of everyone and everything with appreciation and tenderness and she doubted Bonnie would be able to do such a thing. She needed to be careful with her decision, which was why she had not been able to make one yet and she was not really sure when she would. 

The very thought put guilt in Vivian’s heart. If she never made a decision, then she had basically been stringing Betty along and Betty deserved so much better than that. Betty deserved her all and she wanted to give that to Betty, but there was always something. Sighing, she looked at Betty. _She’s worth it_. _She’s worth it all and I want to give her everything_.

Betty worried her job would be given away to someone less than capable if she retired. She did not trust the Shogun to make a proper decision in the replacing her because he was just too idealistic. He was not totally aware of what went into doing her job and he did not seem interested in finding out, so she doubted he would be able to give it to someone who would do it well.

She would like to suggest her nephew for the job, but he was too narrow-minded and uncompromising for it in her opinion. She knew he would never enlist help if it were necessary because he had the opinion of himself that he could take care of everything. She was not sure who would be able to do her job as well as she did, and she did do it well, so she was not sure if she would ever be able to come up with a suggestion for when she did step down. 

But, she did want to step down and Vivian was the only reason for it. She wanted to be there for Vivian, with Vivian. She did not want to die regretting not properly being with the blond. She wanted a chance to truly show Vivian how much she meant to Betty. 

“Nikko-chan…” Betty sighed, but she was not sure what she wanted to say.

Vivian just smiled at her, like she read Betty’s mind. The simple expression settled things inside of Betty, as it typically did. Those warm blue eyes on her never failed to make the world right. This was why she had to do right by Vivian eventually. One day it had to stop being all talk.

The pair sat quietly again. Vivian watched Betty, who focused on her tea and senbei. The blond continued to smile softly. She sighed, sounding very much like a girl in love. It was a sound that she often made in Betty’s presence and things had been like that since she had made the acquaintance of the warrior.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

Vivian had taken to sneaking out to visit with Betty while the ninja was stuck in bed due to her extensive injuries. Vivian was actually enjoying herself beyond just being able to be with her savior, liking an excuse to get out and also an excuse to take care of her savior. Yes, she got to take care of the shinobi. The very idea always made her giggle a little. 

The warrior was not allowed out of bed and a few strong-willed servants around the house made sure Betty did not get up. They also looked the other way when Vivian showed up with soups and other things for the ailing ninja. The servants thought it was good that Betty made a friend beyond Shego because it seemed like Betty would just work herself to death if she were given the chance. They also figured Shego would happily help her do such a thing if given the chance, be it through martial arts training or encouraging her to go on more missions.

Vivian, however, was a sweet, proper girl in the servants’ opinions and she was clearly intent on making certain Betty did not exhaust herself or harm herself any further. They probably would have changed their mind if they knew Vivian was a training geisha, but they assumed she was just a very proper noblewoman, which was rare for them to see with Betty and Shego.

Throughout the time Vivian got to take care of Betty, over a month, she still assumed the warrior was male. She had not learned Betty’s first name, taking to calling her “Director-sama” as they got to know each other better; Director was as far as Vivian had allowed Betty to introduce herself after Vivian offered up her name. Even though the time they spoke to each other, which was very often for a pair that really did not have much in common, Vivian just thought her savior had an odd voice, which she worked passed. 

Vivian figured an abnormal voice was nothing compared to the way she felt so good just being around such a kind, thoughtful, intelligent person. The warrior had not said a word about her status while Vivian was around and she had not said anything about Vivian’s status, or lack there of, either. Betty spoke to Vivian like an equal, also like someone that she enjoyed being around.

“Director-sama, I hope you feel better. I decided to bring you some sweets today,” Vivian announced as she entered the room.

Betty turned at the sound of Vivian’s voice and fought down a smile. Her heart jumped every time she heard Vivian’s footsteps in the hall coming toward her. And, yes, she had learned Vivian’s footsteps. She found she enjoyed Vivian’s company, which was rare. She usually did not like people in general. 

For Betty, this friendship, as unlikely as it was, changed something in her. It should have irked her to know end that Vivian wanted to take care of her; something she barely let her servants do and most of them had been with her since she was a little girl. But, there was just something about that smile and those eyes.

Plus, it was pleasing to have company that was not always huffing about something, someone that did not make her scream in frustration every few minutes. Yes, she was a bit bothered with being taken care of, but she supposed she could let that go since her servants were not even letting her out of bed after her father showed up. Apparently, he had a long talk with them about making sure she healed totally and the servants were in agreement, so she was not going anywhere for a while. 

Betty and Vivian shared a lot of discourse through their time together, which was something else that allowed them to grow closer. Talking with Vivian got Betty thinking about things she generally did not think about because she was used to talking with Shego. She and Shego usually talked combat, history, battle strategy, and things of that nature. With Vivian, she talked almost everything under the sun that did not have to do with fighting. It was quite enjoyable.

“What makes you think I like sweets?” Betty replied, teasing a bit.

Vivian just smiled and Betty’s heart thumped in her chest. “Everyone likes sweets, Director-sama.” She said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Betty grunted. It was a sound Vivian was accustomed to at this point. Her savior made a lot of noises, usually showing displeasure. It was kind of cute. 

For Vivian, being around Betty was a change from what she was used, even though it was something similar to what she did every day. The difference between sitting and speaking with the ninja and sitting and speaking with her clients was quite simple, even though it did not register to her conscious mind. It was just that the shinobi treated her as a friend and equal. She felt welcomed and wanted just for being herself and not because someone had paid to spend time with her. She had never met anyone like the warrior and she subconsciously sighed because of that. It was a content, light sound.

“Everyone you say? I suppose I shouldn’t contradict everyone then,” Betty remarked lightly.

This made Vivian smile. She unwrapped her treats and proceeded to feed Betty small pieces of each. Betty barely protested, acting like she would not open her mouth at first, but all Vivian had to do was press a treat to Betty’s lips and she nibbled the first sample. Vivian smiled and continued on.

Vivian often hoped things would always be as they were between her and the ninja, even though she knew things would change somewhat when the warrior was completely healed. She doubted she would get away with feeding the ninja, but everything else was nice and she wanted things to remain that way. She could not really ask for more, except maybe when the warrior was totally well, “he” would come visit her. 

 _Will things be the same when he gets well?_ Vivian doubted it because the circumstances would be different, like the ninja would have to pay to see her. She supposed she was just going to have to continue to sneak out and with luck things would remain the same between them that way.

Betty had expressed some concern with Vivian coming to visit her. She knew the blond would get into a lot of trouble if it was discovered that she was leaving the pleasure district of Edo. Her worry only made Vivian want to come out more often because she was unaccustomed to someone showing genuine concern for her. 

“Director-sama,” Vivian said, breaking the silence they enjoyed as well as holding off on giving Betty the next snack. They had come to like being around each other without any words having to pass between them. There was a peaceful feeling that was brought in by the comfortable quiet.

“Yes?” Betty replied, wiping her mouth of any crumbs. She did not want to seem like a slob in front of Vivian.

Vivian squirmed a little and glanced away. Betty waited patiently, knowing Vivian would get to what she needed to say if given the time. She took a moment to just bask in the sight of Vivian, who now hid behind her sun-colored hair as she had a habit of doing. Vivian often sat with Betty with her head down, usually to hide a blush that seemed to be permanently marked on her face when she was with the ninja. Betty often had to hold back the urge to reach out and run her fingers through that tempting golden mane, betting that it felt like silk, but resisting finding out.

“Do you suppose we will sit like this when you’re well?” Vivian inquired in a small voice. She was frightened of the answer. 

“Well, I’ll probably be a bit busy when I get better,” Betty answered honestly. She had not been reprimanded for her failure to the point where she was never going to get another mission, but she had been informed she would have to work her way back up to the level of trust her squad leader had in her with tough assignments.

Vivian whimpered a bit, but made sure to swallow it down. She knew the warrior had a job to do, so she should expect things to change, but she disliked that. She wanted to be able to sit with the onyx-eyed shinobi every day like they did now. She just wanted to be in the presence of her savior.

“I understand,” Vivian whispered, unable to talk any louder because of the dull ache coursing through her.

Betty then said something that brightened her visitor completely. “But, I’ll be able to sneak to see you once I get better rather than you having to come here all the time. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

Vivian could not help grinning because of the concern for her that was expressed in the statement and the fact that the warrior would come to see her, showing that her savior had an interest in her beyond her acting as a nurse. She was happy she had her head down because she did not want the warrior to think she was a silly girl.

Betty noticed the expression that her guest wore and she actually smiled because of it. Yes, she definitely would make it a point to visit Vivian once she got better. Why would she deny herself such pleasant company, after all? Such a thing would have been downright foolish in her opinion.

“So, how about more sweets?” Betty requested. She would also be foolish to turn down having sweets fed to her. 

“I thought you didn’t like sweets,” Vivian countered. 

“I think you might be changing my mind.” With that said, there was another treat at her lips.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

“You know, you visited me so much more in the beginning of things, especially when I got here,” Vivian commented. By “here,” she meant the second teahouse she worked at and currently owned.

“It wasn’t the same,” Betty replied. Back then, she was just a ninja. Now, she was in charge of a police force and also in charge of espionage. She had a full plate most of the time. 

“I suppose…” Vivian trailed off. She was well aware that Betty had had more free time back then. She was not as responsible for as many things back then. Still, Vivian wished that her savior would make more time for her and that showed in her expression, which fell into a distinct pout.

“Don’t look like that, nikko-chan,” Betty softly pled while reaching across the table and caressing her host’s delicate cheek. Vivian was so soft and always felt so perfect under her calloused fingertips.

Vivian leaned into the loving touch. “Gomen nasai (I am sorry),” she whispered. She was not supposed to bring Betty’s mood down when the over-worked warrior came by. She was supposed to make sure Betty had a good time, relaxed, and was all-around pleased with being there.

“It’s all right,” Betty tried to assure her. She knew the look all too well. It was a look that she had gotten through the years when Vivian thought she held her job in higher esteem than she held the blond beauty. She hated that look because it was so untrue.

Vivian took a deep breath to try to rein in her emotions. She was supposed to be an expert of control, yet Betty always took that from her if they were together for a few minutes. Everything always hurt more when it came to Betty as far as Vivian was concerned. Despite the fact that because of her feelings for Betty caused her to feel deep pain on occasion, she would not trade in the emotions for anything in the world.

Betty abandoned her tea and senbei, choosing to go to the other side of the table with Vivian. She embraced the sorrowful female and held her close to her chest. Vivian simply returned the hug, wrapping her arms around the warrior’s waist, while resting her head on Betty’s breasts, practically cuddling herself against the cushions. They were still for a few precious seconds before Betty’s hand returned to Vivian’s soft cheek and began gently caressing her. 

“I wish things could always be like this,” Vivian muttered into Betty’s collarbone. It felt so perfect to be pressed against her love and touched in a way that conveyed the tender feelings Betty held for her.

“I do, too,” the brunette replied. “But, I recall when things were not always like this,” she added, sounding slightly amused. 

Vivian’s brows furrowed together as if she did not know what Betty meant. She looked up at Betty, who was wearing a small, entertained smile. It was then she realized what the one-eyed woman was talking about.

“Well, how I was supposed to react when I found out that you weren’t a man? I had already fallen madly in love with you by then,” Vivian commented with a forced pout.

“I’ll agree with the madly part. I still have bruises from that,” Betty remarked with a teasing smile. “I still have bruises when you found out about my husband, too,” she added.

Vivian snorted like an angry bull. _That husband_ , she mentally huffed. All right, so there had been a few bumps in their relationship that she could not blame on Betty’s career or even her own. There was some jealousy and the brief inability to deal with reality, namely that Betty was a married woman.

-*-(Flashback)-*- 

Vivian was doing something that was a bit against the established rules that had been laid out with Betty since the ninja has recovered from her injuries. She was going to Betty’s home. Betty did not like Vivian doing something as risky as she sneaking around to see her, so it was decided she would come to see Vivian. Betty had taken into sneaking into the pleasure district of Edo and she got into the teahouse that Vivian worked in by dressing as a male, which left Vivian still believing she was a man.

Vivian was off to the Director home because Betty had promised to come visit her a couple of days ago when she was certain she would be back from a mission. Betty had not shown up for their appointment, though. She wanted to make sure the master of the Director home was all right. What if the ninja was injured again, after all?

And, yes, Betty was actually the master of the house. Even though she was married, her father forced her husband to take their family name and, honestly, her father had raised her to take charge, so she often commanded her husband around. Because of her forceful persona, her husband tried to make it a point to not be home when she was going to be around. She could not care less since she had only married him because her father told her to.

Vivian was allowed into the house with no problem. The servants greeted her with bright smiles on their faces and directed her right to where she could find their mistress. It took all of her composure to not run to where they directed her, which was good since it was a bit difficult to run in a full kimono, especially full stride like she deeply desired to do. She stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of the person that she wanted to see. Something was wrong and it made her stomach drop into her feet.

The ninja that made her heart beat faster than a bee’s wings flapped was dressed not in the usual dark blue hakama and matching kimono. Instead, the brunette wore a formal kimono with an elaborate obi; she was going to attend a banquet hosted by her parents. It was in that clothing that Vivian noticed Betty’s shape and her mind could not comprehend what she was seeing. 

Vivian’s mind offered only one option: flee. So, she turned and ran before Betty even noticed her. How was it possible? How could the person who made her feel lighter than air and like the most special woman on the planet actually be a female? She felt almost sick about it.

To think, she had actually had to fight back urges to kiss that ninja in past. Now, she was happy she had been able to restrain herself. She had such deep desires to kiss a woman. The very idea made her skin crawl and her stomach flip. She had actually referred to a woman as “anata.” Sure, it was not very often and it was mostly in jest to avoid offending the one-eyed warrior, but she had still done it. Oh, she felt like such a fool.

Somehow, she made it all the way back to the teahouse without being discovered, even though she was not nearly as careful as she usually was. She shed tears when she was in the privacy of her own room. She was not sure why she was crying, but she tried to tell herself that it was because she felt like an idiot for thinking Betty was a man. Underneath it all, she knew she wept because she thought her love would go unreturned since her savior turned out to be a female, but she could not admit that to herself.

She was not sure how long she cried, but while she did, it felt like everything inside of her was torn to shreds. Everything hurt and she swore she could not figure out why. She never felt this way before, never felt so up on moment and then totally shattered the next. She refused to stay broken for long, though. _Why should I?_ She could not think of a reason, but then again, it still took her a long while to cease her tears. 

Once she got over her embarrassment, and unacknowledged agony, she decided to be angry. She was furious that Betty was not a man. She was upset that the ninja seemed to have led her on. She was livid that Betty had been coming to visit her, knowing that outside of workers, women were not allowed in the district, which only added on to her being vexed with Betty not being a man. Betty made the mistake of coming by to see her before the anger ran its course.

“You!” Vivian practically roared as she entered the room with Betty.

The one-eyed woman did not even have a chance to respond or inquire about the tone directed toward her. Vivian charged her and she had to dodge a surprising strong claw attack. Shego probably would have been proud to see it.

“Wait, why are you doing this? What’s going on? Why?” Betty asked, wanting to know why she was being assaulted.

Vivian did not explain herself. It might have had a little to do with the fact that she did not know why she was attacking herself, but that did not halt her actions. When no explanation was forthcoming, Betty decided to force the answers out of Vivian and halt the battering against her.

Betty grabbed Vivian’s hands, making sure not to do it roughly, but enough to stop the assaulting maiko. She then pinned Vivian up against the wall. Vivian struggled against her, but Betty made it clear she was the stronger of the two and things would go her way because of that. Vivian glared at her as if she was the worst sort of person and it made her heart drop.

“Now, what the hell are you doing?” Betty demanded. She thought they were friends, so why the hell was Vivian attacking her like they were sworn enemies?

“I don’t have to answer to you,” Vivian huffed, turning her head away in defiance.

“You do if you want to get the hell off of this wall. Now, what the hell is the problem?” Betty asked, speaking in an even tone despite the fact that she had just been attacked and she disliked such a thing. It did not help that Vivian seemed to hate her all of a sudden.

Vivian glanced at the ninja and then looked away again. Part of her told her to just keep her mouth shut and let Betty wail on her with whatever martial arts’ moves the warrior desired. It would make it so much easier to stop having feelings for a deceiver. It would make it easier to cease to love a woman. _Oh kami_ (god), she thought; she actually loved Betty and had admitted it in her own head.

 _No, no, no. You can’t love a woman, you just can’t_. While Vivian knew her brain was right, her heart refused to listen. She was in love with Director Betty, her savior and friend.

It was because she felt such strong emotions for the brunette that she dared to speak, even though she thought it would be beyond mortifying. She supposed she just needed to watch her words to make sure she did not offend Betty, not while the woman held her so firmly. She turned her bright blue eyes back to the ninja.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Vivian begged, sounding close to heartbroken. Had she known sooner, surely her feelings would not have blossomed into what they were, namely love.

“Say anything about what?” Betty inquired, her eyebrows drawing close together. She wanted to know desperately what she might have done that seemed to have hurt the blond because Vivian’s expression was now killing her on the inside. She would try her best to make amends as soon as she learned what she had done. She never wanted to hurt the younger female.

“That you’re a girl,” Vivian answered in a heated whisper through gritted teeth.

Betty was shocked by that response, so much so that her grip on Vivian loosened. Vivian immediately noticed and turned the tables. She pushed herself off of the wall and backed down the brunette warrior. Vivian now had the upper hand.

“Why didn’t you ever say you’re a girl? You let me make a fool out of myself. You probably laugh at me every time we part,” Vivian accused the one-eyed female with a growl. She was certain she was nothing more than a big joke to the ninja. 

“Why would I laugh? Why wouldn’t you know I’m a girl?” Betty inquired in a confused tone. She thought it would be fairly obvious for Vivian to know her sex as Vivian had seen her lying in bed more often than any other person that she could think of. She failed to take to account that in all of that time, she had been covered with blankets to make sure she stayed warm and comfortable. She was also covered in bandages most of that the time, too. She had been formless, shapeless then.

“What do you mean why would I know? Because you’re here,” Vivian snarled, motioning to the space around them. How was she supposed to know Betty was a woman when she frequently visited a place forbidden to outside females?

“I’m here to see you. I thought we were friends, so I come here to see you,” the brunette argued. She liked being around the maiko for various reasons and if she could, she would like to continue being with Vivian in someway. 

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Vivian stated the obvious.

“So? You weren’t supposed to be at my house, but you were there. What’s the problem? You don’t want me here anymore?” Betty asked, her voice quiet and cracked. It was her turn to sound hurt, maybe even frightened. She liked being around Vivian; it was a wonderful and very welcomed change of pace among other things. Vivian was something calm and soothing in her danger-filled existence. Vivian was the sun and the clear sky in her dark world.

Vivian was caught by surprise by that question. Did she not want Betty around anymore? _It’d be nice_ , her mind jumped in. She would be able to rid herself of her foolish feelings if she never had to see the warrior again. She would also be able to get over Betty and she would also not have worry about the brunette laughing at her behind her back, as she was so certain Betty did, especially when she referred to the ninja as “anata.” 

Little did she know, but Betty thoroughly enjoyed being called “anata,” even if it was just a joke, as the ninja assumed it was. Betty felt attached to Vivian and liked that Vivian cared. She thought the nickname was just a little inside joke between them, which felt good to have.

“Yes!” Vivian answered with passion, practically roaring her response. She never wanted to see Betty again. 

Betty’s onyx eye went wide with shock and ache. This was worse than being ripped apart by a thousand daggers. So, she was unwanted just because she happened to be a female? She did not understand the logic, but she could tell Vivian meant that declaration at the moment and she would respect the decision, even if it hurt like hell. And so, she disappeared from Vivian’s life that night and Vivian was hardly pleased to watch her go.

Vivian’s heart hitched in her chest, silently pleading with her to call the brunette back, but she ignored it. It was not until the pain continuously got worse that she even acknowledged it existed. She avoided admitting to herself that she felt such agony due to the fact that she had not seen Betty in over a fortnight. She had never felt such a longing before, not even when her parents first left her to become a geisha. She never missed them quite as much as she missed Betty. 

She also noticed her feelings were not diminishing in the slightest. If anything, they were just getting stronger as time pressed on. She still felt the urge to embrace the ninja, to caress the warrior, to kiss and love her savior. She just wanted to be near Betty.

What was she supposed to do? She had already banished Betty from her life and Betty seemed to be sticking with that. _How could I do something so stupid_ , she silently demanded. And people swore she was too smart for her own good, she thought sarcastically. _Smart indeed_ , she mentally scoffed.

It took a few days of wallowing in her throbbing internal misery and urges for Vivian to get up and do something about it. She just hoped she was not going to be making an even bigger fool of herself. She went to see Betty. 

Vivian discovered the one-eyed female bedridden again. She quickly found herself concerned and kneeled by Betty’s futon to find out what happened. Betty was surprised by her visitor’s presence, but thankful for it.

“Director-sama, what happened?” Vivian inquired with concern thick in her voice. Her eyes shined with unshed tears. What if this was serious and she had not come? She could have lost her warrior and found out much too late due to stubbornness and her own stupidity.

“It’s nothing serious,” Betty assured Vivian because she could tell how worried Vivian was. She did not understand why Vivian was so worried about her when almost a month ago Vivian had dismissed her from her life, seemingly severing their ties to each other. 

“What happened?” Vivian implored while trying to inspect the ninja without touching her or pulling the covers back.

“Training accident with a couple of new squad members, nothing more,” the brunette answered in a nonchalant tone, hoping to ease the worry from her visitor. 

Vivian’s face still showed worry. “What happened? How were you injured?”

“Oh, the dummies just don’t follow instructions,” Betty replied with a sigh. She had been given the task with complete confidence in her to train two ninja, who did not seem to have a drop of brains betwixt the pair of them and she now had the cuts and bruises to show it. It was a good thing she had sharp reflexes or she would have been killed out there with them. The squad captain was not sure what he was going to do with the pair since she could not even help them.

“Is there anything I can do?” Vivian offered sincerely. She needed something to do, to be useful, to ease her savior’s pain.

“I thought you wanted me out of your life,” Betty pointed out as if it did not matter to her when in fact she had been feeling the sting of separation just as harshly as the maiko had. 

“I thought so, too…” Vivian admitted ruefully, glancing away, ashamed now because of her declaration of wanting the ninja gone.

“And now?” Betty inquired, still trying to sound uninterested.

Vivian looked away again and hid underneath her golden mane. Betty was not looking to settle for that. She did something surprising to try to get Vivian to feel comfortable with explaining things to her. She reached out and caressed Vivian’s cheek. They were both stunned by the soothing affect the action had on both of them. Vivian was soft, Betty noted, while Vivian delighted in how gentle and loving the touch seemed. Tears gathered in sky blue eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” Betty asked in a tender tone.

“Why are you so wonderful? Why couldn’t you just be a man? It would’ve made things so much easier. It would’ve made things right,” Vivian replied, starting to cry even more. 

Betty was not stupid, so she was starting to understand what the problem was. But, she actually did not consider it a problem. It was really something she wanted, something she wanted for a while since meeting Vivian. Now, all she had to do was hope it did not bother Vivian because of the strangeness of it.

“It’s all right, Vivian-san,” Betty said in a gentle whisper.

“How is it all right?” the maiko bawled. 

“If you accept it, it will be all right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because I feel the same way,” Betty replied. Not only did she feel the same way, but it was not as strange to her as it was for Vivian. After all, she had been attracted to women all of her life. 

Vivian sniffled. “You do? How could you?”

“Because you’re wonderful,” Betty stated with a small smile. “Vivian-san, I know this might seem quite forward of me, but may I kiss you?” she requested. She really wanted to.

Vivian went rigid with shock. “Kiss me?” she echoed as if she did not understand. 

The reaction was not promising, but Betty pressed forward. Something might come of it, after all. “May I?” 

Vivian could not answer verbally. She could only nod due to embarrassment that she really wanted Betty to kiss her. And when Betty’s sweet lips fell upon her own, Vivian suddenly could not care less that Betty was a woman. All she knew was that she loved Director-sama and from the feel of the kiss, it seemed the emotion was returned. It was from that moment on that Vivian decided she just loved whom she loved and nothing else mattered.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

“Did you miss me those few weeks we were apart when I first found out you were a woman, anata?” Vivian inquired, still hugged up against Betty. 

“Of course I did. I loved you, didn’t I?” Betty countered softly, hand caressing Vivian’s side. It was only logical that she would miss Vivian and she had missed Vivian something terrible and thought about her almost every minute of every day because of that.

“Then why weren’t you honest with me and tell me that you were married then?” Vivian asked, teasing mostly. She had been very upset when she eventually found out about that little fact. 

“Because I didn’t want you to be mad at me again,” the brunette answered the obvious rather bluntly. 

“That didn’t work out too well, did it?” Vivian remarked.

Betty laughed and smiled. “No, it didn’t, but I doubt there was a good time for you to hear that news.” 

“No, you’re right. I guess I could’ve handled it better,” Vivian conceded. She had actually broken things off with Betty when she found out that the one-eyed woman was married. It had not been the best plan because she felt that agonizing longing again when she was away from Betty. Eventually, she came crawling back again, acknowledging the fact that she was the one Betty loved, not that fat slob she was bound to. He was not a problem for too long, but longer than she liked at the time. 

“It would’ve been nice,” Betty commented.

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t get so mad if you just saw me more often,” Vivian argued. 

“Don’t try to blame me that you get jealous easily. You should’ve known you’re the only one for me, but you always get so jealous,” the one-eyed woman retorted with a smirk. She actually liked that about Vivian, even though it rarely worked in her favor. It was nice to have someone so passionate about her. No one else ever was.

“Well, I’ve got a wonderful woman. Of course I think people are going to try taking you from me,” Vivian said, curling up into Betty even more so. Vivian purred slightly from the delightful feeling of being against her love. She wanted more of this, wanted to know this feeling daily, nightly, and everything in between. 

“You’re the only one who looks at me like that, so you should stop worrying so much,” Betty replied quite seriously. 

Vivian only smiled. She did not understand why more people were not trying to take Betty from her, but that was probably because it never registered to her mind that she saw a Betty almost no other person on the planet had seen or would ever see. Outside of the teahouse’s walls, Betty was the tough, take-no-nonsense leader of some of the finest ninja in the country. She was hardly known to smile on the outside world. Members of her own family would have been surprised to know that her mouth could curl upward, that she could laugh lightheartedly, that she could speak softly, and that she could be tender with someone.

“You know, the tea’s probably cold by now,” Betty said. 

“To hell with the tea,” Vivian remarked, earning a laugh from her love. “I’m staying right where I am.” She sighed contently.

“If that’s your desire,” Betty replied. She leaned down and rested her head in Vivian’s soft locks.

Vivian sighed her usual sigh when in Betty’s presence; the sound of a girl in love. She remained cuddled up to the brunette and just felt like everything was right in the world; Betty knew the feeling well thanks to Vivian’s presence. But, Vivian was going to have to rain on their parade in a moment. She was going to have to get up, retrieve the dinner that she made, and set it up, after all. She had to make sure that Betty ate right and she had to take proper care of her love.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: more flashbacks, the rating goes up, and the story ends.

-8-8-8-8-

*Anata: darling (this is used by a woman addressing her husband or boyfriend).


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters. Disney does.
> 
> A/N: YogurthFrost did a parody comic of this story in the form of a comic and it's [here](http://yogurthfrost.deviantart.com/art/Chibi-Late-Tea-time-54174762). It’s very funny, so you should check it out. 
> 
> Also Soulasylum did a picture of Shego from Honor Bound; [here](http://s0ulasylum.deviantart.com/art/Shego-Honor-Bound-55516281). It’s quite the nice picture, so you should check that out too.
> 
>  

Honor Bound: Tea Time part 2

Betty and Vivian finished with dinner and now they planned to relax for the rest of the night. The first step in that involved taking a soothing, hot bath — together of course. Vivian prepared it, even though she could have asked someone to do it for her in order for the water to be ready when they were done with dinner. Her time with Betty was far from a secret around her place because her girls knew how to keep secrets considering what they did for a living and they followed that rule of their trade forever and always. But, the couple had a little privacy, so the full extent of their relationship was still just between the two of them, which was how they liked it.

Besides, Vivian liked doing things for Betty, be it draw their bath or prepare their meal. She never wanted to share those moments with anyone. It was the little things that reminded Betty someone cared, after all. 

“How hot do you want it?” Vivian asked, knowing her love liked it almost boiling after particularly challenging periods in her life.

Betty sighed. “As hot as you can stand it.” 

Vivian smiled a little. “Oh, anata. Why do you let life get so rough?”

“That’s the nature of the job.” 

“Yes, and I suppose the nature of my job is to soothe you enough that tomorrow you can take on the world once again,” Vivian declared, holding her chin up high. Betty smiled and Vivian finished preparing the water.

They cleaned each other up thoroughly and slowly before sinking into the steaming, sizzling water together. Betty rested her back against the wall of the bathhouse with Vivian resting against her. Betty had her strong arms around the beautiful blond and they were quite content to sit there and watch the steam rise against the water for as long as they could. Occasionally, one of Betty’s hands moved with one eventually rested against Vivian’s pale stomach.

Vivian put her soft hand on Betty’s hand as it settled on her flat tummy. She then made Betty’s hand caress her belly. Before long, the brunette was doing it without any guidance, which made Vivian sigh and smile faintly. Vivian turned slightly and placed a fond, wet kiss to Betty’s shoulder, which was slick thanks to the humidity from the steam. She then settled back in comfortably against her love. 

“Anata…” Vivian whispered while closing her eyes, looking to just take in the experience of having those talented, calloused fingers touch her tenderly to the point where she felt like she would melt and she was well aware that the water temperature had nothing to do with that feeling.

“Yes?” Betty asked in low tone of her own because she was feeling quite relaxed, content with the state of things since she was stroking the wonderful blond, who was also pressed against her in a way that made it seem like they had been made to fit together. Things were perfect in her opinion.

“If it was possible… Would you have had a baby with me?” Vivian inquired in a small, almost shy tone. She thought it was ridiculous question, but it just popped into her head because of the hands on her stomach.

Betty seemed to think on it, being silent for a moment. There was really nothing to think about for the brunette, though. “If it was possible, how could I not have a baby with you?” she countered, sounding as if it was the most logical response that she could give, which it was to her. After all, she had almost had a baby by that fat bastard that she was married to. It was another one of those memories that involved her having to deal with a heartbroken Vivian, which was one of the many reasons she did not like to think about it.

Vivian smiled slightly, but brightly, because of the answer. “Maybe in another life, we’ll be able to do that.” She was hopeful. It seemed so silly to her, but she would love nothing more than to be able to have a baby with her beloved. It would be outstanding in her opinion to see a little version of the both of them, a living, breathing symbol of their love, and then they would be able to raise such a darling together. The thought itself made her feel light on the inside, as if clouds now flowed through her veins instead of blood.

“Maybe,” Betty concurred with a small smile of her own. Maybe in another life, she would actually want a baby, even though she supposed if it had been possible now, she would have had offspring with Vivian. She would have loved to have a little representation of their love running around, driving them insane. Their child would have been a force to be reckoned with.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

Eighteen-year-old Betty anxiously paced a small room in her house. Luckily, there was no furniture in the room or she would have trampled it all while ago, taking no note if something were in her way if that was the case. She had way too much on her mind to notice something as minor as items in her path. There were more pressing matters at hand, after all.

The ninja had a hand on her forehead and a hand on her stomach; she was not totally sure on the rational explanation for those positions, but her nervous was reason enough. She felt like she was sick. Actually, she had already thrown up quite a few times after the thought came into her mind and idea, along with the ill feeling it brought, had yet to leave. _Oh, kami-sama help me_ , she silently prayed.

She was rather frightened, her legs so wobbly that they could barely support her in pacing. Her heart pounded in her ears so loudly she believed the whole world could hear the speedy rhythm. Her stomach refused to settle, twisting and turning every few seconds. The ninja was shaken to the very core of her being, her essence itself trembling because of the possibility.

She might be pregnant.

She had slept with her husband a few weeks ago. They were never frequently found in each other’s arms despite their marital status. It happened because suddenly her father had been pressing her recently to have children and her husband was trying to listen to him. _Damn him and his craven nature._ That was the only reason that he was obeying her father. After all, it was not like the damned man was actually attracted to her.

“Kami help him if he was,” she growled and made a tight fist.

Her husband was tentative about sharing a bed with her, even though he desired to do as her father said. It did not help matters that Betty did not want to be near her husband, so they had to get their heads together for such events. He had to grow some courage and she had to remind herself that she could not mercilessly slaughter him for touching her with his unusually sweaty hands. They hardly slept together once a month and that was fine by her, which made it fine by her husband because he did not want to give her a reason to slay him, which was underlying threat in almost everything that she ever spoke to him.

Usually when Betty did sleep with her husband, she had a handy little concoction ready for after the fact to prevent her from getting pregnant. She knew her father would blow his top in a fury if he ever found out about her actions, but she had to risk it. The one-eyed woman did not want to chance getting pregnant because she was doing so well at work, along with other reasons. She was now second only to her captain in her squad and many of her missions had been secretly praised by the Shogun. Betty was not going to be slowed down for almost a year by having a baby. It might even be longer than that or her father might dare demand she have more children. She refused to deal with that, especially since she did not particularly like children.

There was an even bigger issue at hand of why she did not want to be pregnant and she truly, honestly hoped she was not. That issue had silky blond hair and sparkling blue eyes like ocean water on clear summer day, eyes that could easily turn into pure fire if pushed hard enough. _Oh, she’s going to kill me_.

The problem Betty had run into was that the last time that she had relations with her husband, she had not had the prophylactic drink on hand and could not get her hands on any because she got called off for an assignment the morning after. She had not had the time to try to prevent a pregnancy and now she was afraid she was carrying that disgusting slob’s baby. _At least it would shut Father up_ , she bitterly thought, but that was not as pleasing as it would be to know she was not pregnant.

And then immediately, Vivian came to mind and her stomach twisted once more, which was why Betty was now nervously pacing the tiny room. She could hardly take five steps before she had to turn around and head in the other direction. _Why the hell do we even have such a small room in the house?_ It did not seem practical, but that did not matter at the moment.

The main thing that mattered was that Vivian would flip if she was pregnant. She could already picture those sky blue eyes shedding soul-crushing, heart-wrenching tears, hear the emotional, hurt, spirit-ripping yelling, and feel those tiny, delicate fists knocking against her shoulders in a fury while Vivian demanded to know how she could do such a thing to her. As if she would get pregnant on purpose.

“Not that Vivian will think rationally or be reasoned with if this is true,” she muttered.

Betty’s anxious mind wanted to know, if she was pregnant, how would she break the news to Vivian without getting her forehead cracked open? She did not know the answer to that. She considered she should wait until it was confirmed before opening her mouth at all. There was no need to put such a horrid thing in the air when it might not be true and take a beating for something that was not even happening, after all. _Yeah, okay, right, so wait until it’s confirmed_ , Betty silently decided.

But, what if it was confirmed and then she had to tell Vivian and then Vivian got heated because of the wait? After all, if she told Vivian about the pregnancy months along the condition, Vivian would wail on her with a vengeance for keeping secrets, especially such a deep, important secret. The thrashing would probably be much worse than the one Vivian delivered when she found out that Betty was married. The brunette shinobi rubbed her shoulder blade, thinking about how she took a chahakobi-ningyou to the back when Vivian found out about her husband. Damned mechanical toys and their hard parts.

“I’m so dead…” Betty decided. It was that simple. She was dead and Vivian was her likely murderer. Ah well, she would not want to live if she could no longer be a ninja anyway, so she might as well get things out of the way.

The noblewoman went and slipped on her zori to make her way to Vivian as darkness began to blanket the city, which still buzzed loudly with life despite the lack of sunlight. She had to be careful on her way because she did not want anyone to ever know where she went when she sneaked off. First of all, the onyx-eyed warrior was not supposed to go there, unless of course she was given a mission to get someone out of that district. Second of all, if someone ever figured out what she was doing, it would not be long before her father found out and she was certain he would want to kill his “favorite son,” even though he had recently been taking notice of her femininity. Third of all, her journey and goal could be used against her. Worst of all was that if she was found out, she could get Vivian into trouble, which was something she never desired to do. So, she had to make sure to never get caught.

Going to see Vivian had actually made Betty a better shinobi. She had learned how to spot a person following her almost immediately now and people did follow her, whether they did it for her father, her captain, or whomever else, they tailed her. She could shake anyone now because she _needed_ to shake anyone. She was determined to never be found out. She was never going to put her blond vixen in danger. She had promised herself that a long ago.

The onyx-eyed female made her way to the okiya and found Vivian in her room, getting ready for her night of work. She was now a full-fledge geisha, but was still made to dress like a maiko. She had been told that the customers liked her that way and the customer was always right. Besides, if she did not obey, the consequences included a welted back thanks to a branch that her geisha mother wielded with a vengeance and seemed to like to swing it harshly when Vivian was around.

Betty actually disliked the maiko look on Vivian. Vivian was now sixteen and she was growing into a fine, fantastically curved woman with a distinct and beautiful face. The maiko makeup hid that, as did the long, wide sleeves of the kimono. Betty would like to think the makeup worked well for her because it hid Vivian from others and only she was able to see the real Vivian, but she knew Vivian hated the look and she just disliked it because the blond did. Vivian should not have to dress that way if she was no longer a maiko, but there was no telling that to the witch who practically owned Vivian. Vivian was not in the habit of tempting that woman much of the time.

“Anata,” Vivian greeted the brunette with a happy, shining smile that Betty knew was going to be short lived.

“Nikko-chan,” Betty replied with a smile of her own, hoping the nickname and expression would soften her girl up some, while secretly scanning the room. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she took in the room.

Oh, there were so many objects, so many more than when Vivian found out about her husband. She might lose her last eye to a comb while dolls abused her torso, her forehead was to be clobbered by a fan, and her cheek might actually take a makeup container to it. Oh, well, she needed to take it. She was a ninja, warrior, after all. No pain, no gain. Besides, she brought this on herself for not being more diligent.

“Why are you here so early?” Vivian asked and she moved to give Betty a quick peck on the mouth as part of her greeting. She expected her love to show up once she started work since Betty liked to take up Vivian’s time to keep grabby men away her.

“I need to talk to you,” Betty answered, adding mentally how the timing was for her to get her news out of the way and only take a short beating, not one that could last all night and that she would have to pay for, which made it worse. 

“Okay, talk,” Vivian said, turning back to her mirror to make sure her makeup was fine. She sighed to herself as she saw her image. She wished she did not have to paint herself every night. She hoped it did not go on for the rest of her life.

“I think…” Betty paused, trying to see what was close to Vivian’s hand to get an idea of what she would have to duck and dodge. It was a comb, so she was probably going to have to duck. “Imightbepregnant,” she informed the younger woman in a breath. 

Vivian was quiet and still for a long time. Too long in Betty’s opinion and so her body tensed, ready to move when necessary. She was not foolish enough to believe Vivian did not understand her words, despite the way that she had put them. Things were taking much too long. Betty then ducked just in time as a comb whizzed by her head at a rather remarkable speed and Vivian faced her with agony and fury blazing in her blue eyes like a monster inferno.

“What do you mean?” Vivian demanded, hissing to avoid raising her voice. She had already almost gotten them discovered once when she lost her temper. Thankfully, Betty had the reflexes of a cat and was able to hide that time.

“Sweetie, calm down,” Betty said, not that she expected that to work. It would be a pleasant surprise if it worked just once, though. 

“No! How could you do this to me?” Vivian cried, picking up her makeup case. She flung it at her one-eyed lover.

Betty dodged the makeup case and tried to plead her case, but she had to work on avoiding getting smashed in the face by Vivian’s mirror. She caught that rounded item because if Vivian broke her mirror, her geisha mother would literally break her arm. She gently placed the mirror down, which gave Vivian a chance to nail her with a chahakobi-ningyou in the arm. Betty hissed in slight pain and turned around just to have another doll crash her right in the face. 

“Kuso (damn it),” Betty cursed as she fell to the floor, holding her good eye. Blasted lack of depth perception! She had not been aware of how close that doll was to her face, which was why it nailed her dead on.

It was then that Vivian realized she might have seriously injured her love. Gasping, she rushed over to Betty’s side and cradled the older female’s head in her lap. She gasped again when she saw blood. There was a small cut at the corner of Betty’s closed eye. _Oh, kami-sama, what if I blinded my beloved!_

“Anata, are you all right?” Vivian begged, a desperate edge in her voice now. Her eyes were suddenly crawling with concern for her love’s wellbeing despite the pain that Betty had just delivered unto her. 

“Fine, just seeing two of you right now,” Betty answered in a slight daze and the two of Vivian she saw both looked concerned for her, but also having an underlying, deep sorrow in those sapphire eyes.

“Good…” Vivian trailed off and looked away. “What now?” she asked in a lost, distant tone, reflecting just how she felt at the moment. 

“What’d ya mean?” the one-eyed ninja countered in a bit of a slur, still feeling a little dizzy.

“You’re going to have a baby… his baby,” Vivian hissed with disdain so laced in her voice one might expect venom to drip from her teeth because of it. “Where does that leave us?” She willed her eyes not to water because of the explanation that she expected.

Vivian expected to hear they were done. Betty would not be able to come see her any more and she would start focusing on her family obligation to have the offspring of that bloated jerk she was married to. Vivian was not sure how she would go on without Betty, who was pretty much the highlight of her day whenever she saw the one-eyed woman. The only other thing that brought her joy was building little mechanical devices, which she did not get to do too often, and that hobby paled in comparison to her beloved’s presence alone.

“I only might be. It’s not definite,” Betty pointed out, hoping to rid Vivian of the pain she could see in those bright blue eyes. She hated being the cause of agony she could so plainly see was violently tearing at Vivian’s soul. She felt so unworthy of Vivian’s affections and love. 

“But, what if you are?” Vivian’s voice was a ghost of itself. 

“I don’t know,” Betty admitted honestly while trying to keep in her own despair at the grim prospect if it was true.

She was not sure what she would do if she was pregnant and the thought of it frightened her as much as it did Vivian. The blond swallowed a lump in her throat and forced herself not to cry, as it would smear her makeup and she would have to go through the irksome process all over again. Betty held her tight. 

“I’ll think of something, though, if it’s true,” Betty promised. “You know I’ll never let you go, right?”

“I hope that’s true,” Vivian replied and swallowed hard. “You’re the only good thing in my life right now.” 

“You are the same. You’re my light within the shadows I have to live. Nothing will tear me from you,” Betty vowed. “If I am… pregnant, then the baby will just have to get used to seeing you.”

Vivian forced out a laugh. She was not sure how that would work, but she knew Betty believed it and that was why she said it. Betty would probably move heaven and Earth if it helped her keep a promise to Vivian. Still, Vivian felt anxiety in her chest. 

-8-8-8-8-

Eventually, Betty was pleased to find out that she was not carrying a child, but between that time and when she told Vivian, she had to put up with Vivian resenting her presence whenever she was around and looking ready to bawl her eyes out. It crushed her on the inside to see Vivian like that and no amount of apologizing changed it. 

Even when she reported the good news, Vivian was not brought back to normal, just stating it might not have happened that time, but it was still a possibility in the future. Betty might one day be pregnant and Vivian detested that thought, finding that it would be the end of them.

“I told you, I would think of something if that happened,” Betty insisted, not that she would allow such a thing to happen. There was too much at stake now, way beyond her job.

“You don’t know the future,” Vivian hissed, sitting on the far end of the room. Honestly, if he geisha mother came in right now, Vivian would probably be beaten for treating a loyal customer in such a way. She just did not care.

A frown cut across Betty’s face. “No, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen and I’ll plan for the future, just in case.” She made plans all the time, after all. It was part of who she was.

“You can’t plan for this.” Vivian glared at her.

“I can.”

Vivian did not respond. Betty, of course, did not think that it was fair that she had to deal with Vivian’s attitude toward the slim possibilities of her being pregnant. She thought it was much more likely for Vivian to be the one out of them to become pregnant with the way her geisha mother treated her almost like a common prostitute. Of course, Betty would never say that. But, she planned for it.

Betty was just more realistic about things while Vivian just wanted something in her life to be almost like a fantasy and her relationship with Betty seemed to be that. The ninja indulged her as best she could, especially since she had no inclination to ever become pregnant no matter how much her father pushed for things. It was a battle that Betty eventually seemed to win.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

“You know, hot baths with you are always the best,” Betty commented with a sigh as she closed her eye in relaxation. She felt like she could die right now and everything would be fine because it was perfect. It was like she had hit the pinnacle of existence.

“That’s the way things should be, anata,” Vivian replied with a little laugh, comfortable in her own right against the firm body that the love of her life. “If you only came by more often, we could do this all the time.” It would be quite grand if they could be together in a hot bath everyday if they chose to do so.

“If you just came to live with me, we could do this all the time,” came the counter.

Vivian did not bother to answer, merely turning around to where she could rest her head on Betty’s shoulder; the water swished around the bath as she moved. She placed a gentle kiss to Betty’s neck while wrapping her arms around her love. Betty smiled and adjusted her hold on Vivian; a hand rested around Vivian’s waist and another was pressed against her thigh. They were both quite pleased with their new positions.

“I know I don’t come by as much as I should, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about you all the time,” Betty said out of the blue. She just felt like that needed to be in the air, for Vivian to know she did not love her any less now than she had when they first got together. Her schedule was different, but her emotions were very much the same.

“I know. Just because I get angry with you doesn’t mean I want to make you feel guilty,” Vivian replied. She got angry because Betty just never thought of herself.

Betty only thought about keeping the peace and honoring the duty given to her by the deceased shogun. Vivian just wanted her love to think of herself a little before she worked herself into an early grave. They still had so much time to be together and she wanted every minute of that and wanted Betty to have every minute of it too in order to do things that she wanted to do.

Feeling in a sentimental mood that could only be brought on by Vivian, Betty said something that earned her a sweet kiss. “You’re wonderful, you know that?” she asked Vivian.

Vivian actually heard such things many times, generally from men frequenting her establishment. It meant nothing coming from them, but everything coming from Betty. She loved hearing any little compliment coming from the one-eyed woman and always kissed Betty when she said them; one would think Betty would learn to say them more often considering how much she loved Vivian’s tender kiss. 

Betty was often tight-lipped with her emotions and did not freely give compliments, even to Vivian. It had to do with her ninja training; a ninja was not emotional, especially visibly. Vivian often told her that a human was emotional, no matter what. Betty tried her best to prove that wrong, but she faltered sometimes. Vivian was typically involved in those slips.

“I hope to always be wonderful to and for you,” Vivian replied, kissing Betty once more. 

-*-(Flashback)-*-

The now nineteen-year-old Betty made her way to the teahouse Vivian served. She had just had a difficult mission and was just looking to relax, which was best done in Vivian’s company as far as she was concerned. She imagined sipping some sake while laying her head in Vivian’s lap while the blond gently caressed her scalp. 

The very thought made her breath quicken. She could not wait for that and hurried to her destination, not wasting a single second on anything other than her journey. Her bubble was burst when she arrived at the teahouse only to find out that Vivian was “unavailable.” Betty then had to play a word game to find out exactly what that meant.

At first, the ninja assumed Vivian was seeing some other client since her little, intellectual blond geisha was in-demand, which bothered her to an extent, but she had learned to live with it. After some verbal fighting, she found out Vivian was not with a client, so now she was really curious and a little worried about what the hell “unavailable” meant. After all, she knew how the woman in charge treated her geisha, especially Vivian.

Betty tried to find out what happened and the more the lady at the front of the teahouse was evasive, the more she worried. She managed to keep herself calm, thanks to her ninja training mostly, but her mind had a lot of questions. What if Vivian’s geisha mother hurt her to the point she could not work or even worse than that? What if the woman who was like the sun to her was injured somewhere, requiring her help? What if Vivian had needed her help, but did not need it anymore because she was dead?

When the idea of death entered her mind, Betty practically yanked the lady at the front over her counter to find out what happened with Vivian, surprising her it seemed at the show of strength, even though it was believed that Betty was a male. Betty stared the woman down with a cold glare.

“Where is she?” Betty growled.

The woman gulped at the murderous look in Betty’s cold onyx eye. “I don’t know,” she promised in a trembling tone. Then she called for help.

Betty snarled and flung the useless woman against the wall as help arrived. Betty was “escorted” out of the teahouse, thrown out on her ass by two “gentlemen.” They glowered at her.

“Don’t let us see you around here anymore,” one moron said.

Betty did not take that lightly, but she did not start any trouble because her wounded pride was nothing to fret about at the moment. Her major concern was finding out what happened to Vivian before she died of worry, which seeped into her system and caused her heart to speed up to a hum. She had no idea of how she would find Vivian, but she would have to be patient. Something would come to her. She would find her geisha and make sure someone paid dearly if so much as a sun-colored hair was out of place.

“Wait for me,” she whispered to the night air, hoping it carried to her love. 

-8-8-8-8-

The room was dark, like the inside of a cave. A lantern had just been blown out and the occupant of the room had laid down for some sleep. Little did she know, but it was going to be a bit difficult to sleep that night.

A figure dropped down from the ceiling, impacting the floor silently; a feather hitting the ground probably made more noise. The figure marched over to the futon and straddled its occupant. Seconds later, the woman woke up to a horrible situation, having a dagger to her throat and a person dressed in black from head to toe sitting on top of her. The person even had on a matching mask, making the situation seem bleaker and ominous.

“Don’t make a sound,” the armed assailant ordered in a low tone to avoid any unwanted guests from joining the party. “Now, you’re going to answer a few questions for me. Where is the blond geisha that works in your teahouse?”

“What blond geisha?” the woman inquired, her voice just as defiant as her answer. Apparently, she was not afraid of the blade on her throat, not yet anyway.

“Don’t play stupid. Give me my answers or I’ll just slit your throat and find out on my own,” the stealthy trespasser replied with a menacing growl. She was dead serious.

“That one is gone,” the woman stated with venom of her own. It would seem she was happy to be rid of Vivian.

“Where to?” The question was snarled out.

“Why?”

“I’m the one asking the questions, unless you’d like to be lacking your head when I’m done. Now, tell me where to,” the assailant demanded, patience gone and a desire to make the woman underneath her the same was starting to rear its head. The world would be a much better place without her anyway. This woman who dared to hurt Vivian whenever the urge overcame her.

“What does it—” That question was halted as she felt the blade biting at her flesh of her throat.

“That doesn’t sound like the answer to my question. You’ve got one more chance to tell me where she is or we’re going to have a big mess on our hands that you’re not going to like.” It was a promise.

The woman actually seemed to have to think about it, taking a few seconds to answer. “I sold her.”

A sigh of relief had to be held in. Okay, Vivian was not dead or even hurt, only some place else. Now, all that had to be found out was where Vivian had been sold to.

“Where?” It was another demand with the underlying threat from the last promise hanging heavily in the air.

The information was given without much resistance, but a lot of animosity. The tone was irrelevant, but the information was gratifying. The assailant then seemed to disappear into the night air after that, but not without leaving proof of the visit by “nicking” the woman in bed. She hissed and grabbed her neck.

“You should get that looked at soon or you will bleed to death,” the intruder said casually, as if killing the woman meant nothing. The cut was for every time that woman hurt Vivian in someway and there were plenty of those times. After exiting the building, the assailant yanked off the mask, revealing Betty with a slightly relieved expression, but the tension would not totally leave her until she saw Vivian for herself. 

-8-8-8-8-

Vivian sighed as she prepared to go to bed in her new room. For some reason, it still felt odd to her, even though she had been there for almost two weeks. It was better than her old room, her old home actually, in a way she could not put into words. It was just infinitely better and she was thankful for the change so far, but something seemed to be missing and she knew what it was.

“You’re up late, child,” a now familiar voice called as her door was slid open.

“Wong-sama,” Vivian said as she turned to face the new woman that she worked for, Wong Wanda.

Vivian bowed slightly to the woman, even though she had been told it was unnecessary to do so. She did it out of habit because her last employer had no problem beating her for showing a lack of respect. Vivian thought it was peculiar that the woman spoke to her as if she was an old woman when Wanda appeared to be only in her thirties. She did seem to have an old soul, like she was much older than her years hinted at.

“You’re quite the night owl,” Wanda noted. It was a mere observation, not suspicion in her voice whatsoever.

“Oh… yeah,” Vivian muttered, not sure what else to say. She was used to staying up late, but that was only when Betty was around. Now, she just stayed up, silently calling out to her beloved.

“Something’s on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?” Wanda offered her ear, sounding quite genuine. There was a soft look in her eyes and in her tone, but it was not enough to open up her newest employee. She had yet to figure out the key to Vivian’s mind or being, but she had time to deduce how to unlock the young geisha and glimpse what was behind that pretty mask.

Vivian looked away. The question was not one she was accustomed to from anyone, except for Betty. But, it was really alien coming from an employer. She was used to being seen as an object by her geisha mother, but so far from being with Wanda, it was not what she was used to. Wanda treated her like a person, really only the second person to do that to her in her life. She was not quite comfortable with it yet coming from Wanda and she did not know how to respond to it. 

“Maybe you’ll want to talk about it later. Try not to stay up too late,” Wanda said in motherly tone and she left Vivian to her thoughts.

Vivian decided to just go to bed. She had faith that Betty would find her, but she worried about when that might be. It had already been two weeks and she had not seen Betty in over three weeks because of a mission she had to take where she had to travel to the south. Maybe her beloved was still out on her mission, she considered. Yeah, maybe that was it.

The blue-eyed geisha settled into her pillow and closed her eyes, hoping to ease away the worry that ate away at her insides with needed rest. She was not sure how long she was asleep, but she was startled awake by being aware of a presence in her room. She shot up from her futon and was surprised to see who the presence was.

“Anata!” Vivian cried with joy as she flung herself into Betty’s arms. Betty returned the embrace just as tightly.

The brunette sighed in relief. It was a feeling the blond in her arms could relate to. Betty felt like a mountain had been lifted from her shoulders the second Vivian was in her arms, causing her worry to evaporate. The warrior was so delighted to see that Vivian was alive and well that she could not even compare the happy feeling to anything else. It was like waking up from a battle to find out that she was not dead, but a million times better. It was rather overwhelming for both of them, but Betty more so because she had feared the worst for more time than she liked.

Betty pulled away after a few seconds only to give Vivian a deep kiss. Vivian did not resist the show of affection and returned it with just as much vigor. The kiss was passionate, fiery while being gentle and sweet, like candy. They pulled away just for some air, which Betty caught before Vivian. The one-eyed woman placed a few zealous pecks to Vivian’s longed-for, delicious lips while the geisha still tried to catch her breath. 

Vivian did not mind the energy her beloved bestowed upon her. In fact, she enjoyed it a great deal because she felt more wanted than air because Betty was not bothering to breathe. Besides, Betty was not often so vigorous and open with her affections. Clearly, Vivian was missed and longed for.

“I’m so glad you’re all right. I was so worried,” Betty admitted, holding Vivian close.

Their hearts beat against each other’s bodies at surprisingly the same rhythm. It was quite a soothing thing and helped calm them down a bit since they were now certain they were together, reunited. The other was real and all right. 

Blue eyes blinked and then stared widely at Betty. “You were worried?” Vivian was not used to hearing Betty express such thoughts. She guessed it was because it seemed like a weakness, but she was pleased to know she meant so much to Betty that the brunette was concerned for her. Oh, she felt so special just from that simple admission.

“I didn’t know what happened to you. At first, I thought that horrible woman had hurt you or done something to you. I’m so glad you’re all right,” the ninja repeated herself, still embracing the younger woman tightly.

“She sold me,” Vivian informed Betty, as if that would help ease Betty’s nerves, even though there was no need for that now that the warrior held Vivian to witness for herself that everything was fine.

“I know.”

“I knew you’d find me,” Vivian said honestly with a small, glad smile, even though she had not known how long it would take Betty. She wondered if Betty sought after her for a long time. 

“Damn right. I mean, I just get back from my mission and I’m looking forward to spending time with you and the next thing I know, I’m being told you’re ‘unavailable.’ I had no clue what that meant and I thought the worst,” Betty stated, caressing Vivian’s cheek as she held her. She just had to touch Vivian to prove she was there and all right. Touching seemed to make sure the whole thing was reality as if her other senses could be lying to her.

“How long have you been looking?” Vivian asked. 

“Well, I just got back tonight. It took me about an hour or so to find this place since I’ve never been in this area before,” the warrior answered. She had gotten a little turned around a couple of times, not realizing how big the pleasure district was and how so many things looked alike.

Vivian smiled to herself; her love had wasted no time at all finding her. That made her feel so special and warm on the inside, even more so than she had already felt. It was almost like she was ready to explode from her emotions brought on by Betty. She had to go in for another kiss for that, which Betty returned. The show of affection blazed with passion, igniting their souls, and causing Betty to speak without thinking, bearing her whole interior being to Vivian for the first time.

“I love you so much,” Betty declared, as if it had just occurred to her and it was actually the first time she had said those words. Before that, her feelings were just implied through fond embraces and tender kisses.

Vivian could not believe it, but now she felt even more special and warm inside. She was flushed with emotions because of the statement. The words made her feel like her whole body would just shot off to the moon like a fireworks display. Her emotions could not literally go through the roof though and they felt bottled in, needing to go somewhere or they would implode. Her energy then went to the best place possible in her opinion. She hugged Betty tighter and began crying, which alarmed Betty.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Betty inquired in a panic. Fear shot through her as she pushed away from Vivian to see if there was some sign of injury. Her heart pounded in her ears and her stomach flipped several times in the seconds that it took her lover to respond.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… you’ve never said that before,” Vivian informed the shinobi. She could not believe how good it felt to hear those simple words.

“No? Well, I do. I love you,” Betty repeated and that earned her one more kiss, much more passionate than the others. They were shocked that they did not burst into flames from the embrace.

-*-(End of flashback)-*- 

“Hey,” Vivian said to Betty, which actually took the older female from a little nap she was engaged in while reclining in the hot bath.

“Yeah?” Betty asked in low tone that was clearly one of someone being taken from a good sleep.

“You were sleeping,” Vivian accused her lover, being playful more than anything else. She was quite happy the brunette was getting some sleep because she was certain Betty did not get much rest when she was home. She was right about that.

“Maybe a little,” Betty admitted with a bit of a laugh. 

“We should get out then.”

“In a few minutes.”

“All right,” Vivian agreed because she was quite comfortable where she was situated. “Although if this is just an excuse to have us close and naked, you don’t need an excuse,” she remarked.

Betty chuckled. “I know I don’t.”

“So, does this mean you’re going to spend the night?” Vivian inquired in a hopeful tone, matching look in her light sapphire eyes.

“Hmm…” Betty pretended to think on her answer, just to tease her lover. 

Vivian threw on a fake pout. “If you love me, you’ll stay.”

“Well, I guess I’m staying then because I do love you.” This response earned her a sweet, little kiss on the mouth. 

“You know, I love it when you say that,” Vivian stated in a low, sultry voice. She also noted that Betty said it with more ease as time went by.

“I know you do. After all, you ended up telling Wong-san about it,” the warrior commented.

Vivian only smiled coyly, as if she did not know what Betty was talking about. It turned out that once she got comfortable around Wong Wanda, she could not keep her mouth closed about Betty. She also could not keep the grin off her face or the joy out of her tone.

At first, Vivian only revealed she had fallen for an elite ninja, but as time went by, she eventually felt all right with telling Wanda the ninja’s name. She was only encouraged to keep up the affair by Wanda because she had not had a negative reaction to the news. Things like that showed just how close she had become with Wanda. Betty would actually say Vivian and Wanda had a closer relationship to each other than Betty had with her own mother. 

“Can we get out now?” Vivian requested in a small voice. Now that she knew Betty was going to stay the night, she only wanted to retire to her room.

“You’re always so eager,” Betty commented as if she was not of a like mind. The tiny smile on her face told how Betty felt about the idea of retiring for the night.

Vivian had an excuse, not that she needed one, for why she was ready to get out of the bath. “Well, I only see you once a month now if I’m lucky and sometimes you don’t even stay the night, so I need to make the most of it. Besides, I’m supposed to relax you.”

“Is that what it’s about? I never noticed,” Betty said sarcastically. Her tone was light, which would have surprised most people who knew her fairly well.

“It’s always about relaxing you,” Vivian insisted.

“Not always,” Betty corrected her.

“Okay, how about, it’s partially about relaxing you?” Vivian amended her statement with a smile.

Betty decided to agree with that and agree they should get out of the water now, especially since she was close to nodding off again. She would rather be wide-awake for what was next. It was always worth it, feeling that connection and affection. Even their rather clumsy first time was worthwhile.

-*-(Flashback)-*-

An eighteen-year-old Vivian was nervous and fearful. The feelings went to the point where she could not longer keep still, having to always be moving some part of her body. Typically her emotions manifested themselves in her tapping her fingernails against something, it did not matter what. She would tap surfaces, her own cheek, even the palm of her opposite hand. She just could not stop fidgeting because she was so anxious and the feeling only built as time went by, making her symptoms worse simultaneously.

It had been almost two months since the geisha heard from her beloved. She knew Betty had gone out on a mission, but it usually did not take her that long to return, or if it was going to take that long, Betty would have said so. So, she did not know what to think, which caused her to be stressed worse than an overloaded old wagon with broken wheels.

“Where are you, my love?” Vivian sighed, eyes on the sky. _Please, at least be underneath this sky_.

As more days passed and Vivian did not see her love, she decided she needed to go see what was going on. She was not worried Betty might be spending time with her husband because he had recently died while he was out on a trip of some kind. She did not know the details behind that, except he had some illness, and really did not want to. Betty had not lamented the passing more than one would lament the passing of an acquaintance and then went on with her life; Vivian had done the same.

She also did not consider Betty might be with a friend because the warrior told her that she only had one real friend in life — Shego. Betty had not seen Shego in a long time, though. Shego had become a ninja when she turned fifteen, as was promised by her father. So, Shego was out on missions just like Betty was and they had lost contact with each other. Vivian did not know what might have happened with Betty.

She sneaked out one night and went to Betty’s house to get answers about her love’s whereabouts. The house was still when she arrived and the servants seemed to drift around the place. Upon seeing her, one of the older servants approached her with lines under her eyes.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Vivian implored.

The servant swallowed hard. “There are unconfirmed rumors going around that our dear mistress has died on her mission.”

Vivian felt like she had been shot through the heart with that news and could not breathe for more time than she liked. She had to glance on the floor to make sure that her insides had not just fallen out because it certainly felt like they had. The floor was clear of her vital organs, but that did not explain why it felt like she had been drained of everything that made her whole. It was like her blood was gone and the little bit of color that her skin had had left with the crimson liquid. Her throat was dry and it seemed like her heart had taken up residence there, pounding so heavy that it hurt her ears.

“Are you all right, mistress?” the servant asked, hands out in case Vivian fell. Vivian could not make a sound, so she found it impossible to respond.

Despite the reaction, Vivian refused to believe such horrible news. There was no way Betty was dead, there was just no way. Betty would never allow herself to be killed on a mission. She would work beyond reason to make it home and let those that knew her, and loved her, know exactly what happened. Betty would never just die and disappear. It was not in her nature.

The servants were with Vivian, but they were just giving her the reports they received. The most positive news they had was that Betty was just missing, which was much better than the worst of it, but it still was not what they wanted to hear.

“Can I get you something?” the servant offered.

Vivian shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine. I just…” She was not sure what she wanted to say. She needed to wrap her mind around this.

Vivian left, vowing to come back and check in a few days later. She returned, every day to find out what happened with Betty. Her persistence paid off.

After ten days of coming back and forth to the house, Vivian found her love in bed, resting up. It was almost liked nothing was wrong. The geisha’s heart hitched in her chest with joy as tears gathered in her eyes, extremely happy to bear witness to the sight of a very alive Director Betty. Vivian fell to Betty’s side and embraced her tightly. She gave Betty a kiss on lips before any words were exchanged between them. 

“Are you hurt?” Vivian begged, laughing a bit while tears streamed down her pale face. She had never felt so relieved, even when Betty had found her back when she moved in with Wong Wanda. She just wanted to bawl from her relief and glee while never letting her beloved go.

“I’m fine,” Betty assured the younger woman, looking her dead in the eye to show she was perfectly fine. She did not want Vivian to be so concerned over nothing. She was honest and truly completely all right and she wanted Vivian to see that in her expression to know she could relax.

“What happened?” Vivian chuckled again, undoubtedly from the fact that she just did not know what to do. She was so happy she wanted to laugh and weep at the same time, which she was doing anyway from the flood of emotion coursing through her.

“My team ran into some problems, but everything turned out fine. It was just the weather wasn’t on our side. Sorry if I worried you,” Betty said in a gentle tone, caressing Vivian’s cheek to calm her down.

“I’m just glad you’re not dead!” Vivian replied with relief all over her face. She was still crying, but she was smiling at the same time and the ninja knew those were tears of joy.

“Not even close,” Betty remarked with an amused smirk.

Vivian sighed as if she had been relieved of some great, intense burden that no one else in the world could comprehend, in her opinion. Then something inside of her just snapped. The dam broke and all of her emotion poured out in a way that she had never experienced.

She attacked Betty with a passionate kiss, showing how overjoyed she was that Betty was all right. As time ticked by and the kiss continued, Betty pulled Vivian down onto the futon with her. Either the warrior was just swept up in what Vivian started or the dam broke inside of her, too, because she felt overcome by her emotions in the same manner. Before they realized it, their hands were roaming each other’s bodies.

They were not sure who tore open whose kimono first, but the important thing was that tops were opened and hands were inside of those. The warm feeling from those hands seemed infectious, spreading to the places those hands caressed and beyond. The kissing continued as the hands brushed off the kimonos from their shoulders for easier access to the stretches of lovely skin. When they started feeling bare skin and stiff room air against said flesh, they pulled away from each other and looked at each other, both appearing flushed and puzzled.

“Um…” Vivian’s eyebrows furrowed together in pure confusion while her body felt like it was on fire, begging for something she was not sure how to give it. In fact, her body demanded her brain stop thinking and just press forward until the fire was put out. Her brain did not seem to agree with that plan, much her body’s frustration.

“Exactly,” Betty concurred, feeling the same desire and bewilderment. Her nerves were pleading with her to get things going again for those wonderful hands to be all over her again, but there was more and it was that that caused her to be puzzled. How could they get what they needed?

“I…” Vivian started to say, but she felt like the words she was about to say were obvious, so she swallowed those down and said something even more obvious. “I don’t know what to do,” she confessed, almost in a panic because of how badly she wanted to be with her beloved.

“Me neither,” Betty admitted, managing to keep her cool, but she really wanted things to continue. They needed to figure something out and soon or she was going to go mad with desire.

“But, I need to do something,” Vivian pled in a desperate tone. She needed to touch and feel Betty, stating soundly through caresses that her love was alive and hers. That their love hit on every level possible. They needed to make love and they needed to do it right now in her opinion, no matter how impossible it seemed to her way too rational brain at the moment.

“Touch me and we’ll figure it out,” the one-eyed woman insisted. They were two intelligent ladies, they would figure it out if they wanted it bad enough and she was pretty sure that they did.

Vivian nodded in agreement with as it did sound like a brilliant plan. It would at least sooth some of her anxious nerves that needed attention from her beloved. She leaned in for another kiss while returning her hands to her love’s bare flesh. It felt so good!

Betty shivered under her love’s touch, her body appreciating the exceptional contact, and Vivian noticed, loving that reaction. Vivian would make sure to have the brunette tremble thanks to her touch. She wanted to make sure Betty came back for more… once they figured out how to get this going.

Betty busied herself with attempting to get Vivian completely out of her kimono. It did not take long and Vivian hissed as the cool air hit her overheated skin. Betty pulled away from for a moment and took a look at her handiwork. The ninja released a long exhale, as if she was bearing witness to something that was incredible and amazing. The look in her eye backed up the fact that she seemed to be experiencing outstanding and out of the ordinary.

“You’re beautiful,” Betty said, almost as if she had just realized it, even though she had thought that since she first met Vivian.

Vivian blushed and she was not sure what to say, but she was beyond pleased the ninja thought as much of her. “Arigato,” she muttered as if she was embarrassed. She had heard it countless times from meaningless men, but to hear it from Betty seemed to confirm it, making it the solid truth.

“I mean it,” Betty stated soundly, hand caressing Vivian’s cheek.

“I believe you. I want to see you, too,” Vivian replied in a low, lustful, yet needy tone.

Betty nodded and she stayed completely still as Vivian slowly stripped her of her kimono. Vivian licked her lush lips in anticipation as she peeled the cloth away from Betty’s torso and her heart sped up as she got to see her love bare to her. Betty’s own heart raced a mile a minute and her mind actually begged for Vivian to not go so agonizingly slow. Betty was silent, though, wanting Vivian to have her way. Vivian stopped breathing for a few seconds when she saw what Betty looked like naked.

“Kami-sama…” Vivian breathed. Her mouth refused to close and she stared with open awe.

Betty was far from self-conscious about her body, even though she was certain it had to be quite a sight considering the fact that she had been a well-worked ninja for five years and before that had been trained to be nothing but a ninja. Her body was tanned, powerful, muscular, but marked with several scars, which she wore with pride. She was happy Vivian was impressed and pleased with the sight before her. It was almost like she was studying that magnificent form while making plans for the body in her head. Betty shivered at the thought.

“Can I…?” Vivian requested, gingerly reaching out to touch a small mark near Betty’s collarbone, which let the one-eyed warrior know what she meant more than the question did.

“Sure,” Betty gave her permission. 

Vivian reached out and gently tracing the scar with her fingertips. She did that for a few seconds before she noticed another mark she would like to touch, which was on Betty’s side. And then there was another small one on her shoulder that Vivian wished to touch, too. She just wanted to know everything about the strong body being displayed to her, for her. 

“Why don’t I have more hands?” Vivian wondered aloud, moving her hand to the scar on the side.

Vivian got a wicked good idea, in her opinion, and she doubted Betty would complain. Forget not having enough hands, she had been blessed with a mouth and a tongue. She leaned down and kissed the scar by Betty’s collarbone and the shinobi inhaled sharply when the contact was made. She gripped her futon tightly to avoid holding Vivian in such away, thus avoiding hurting the geisha, when she felt Vivian’s tongue tracing the scar.

Vivian doubted Betty had ever been treated in such a manner. After all, Betty’s husband had never enjoyed lying with her and even though Betty had always known she was attracted to women, she had never really acted upon the desire until Vivian.

“Is this all right?” Vivian asked, even though she could guess the answer.

“Uh-huh.” Betty watched Vivian, who smiled. The look in Betty’s eyes sort of blustered Vivian enough to keep kissing her scars.

Vivian noted that Betty tasted salty, but delicious. Being so close to her love allowed Vivian to catch the scent Betty without it being blocked by the smell of her kimono that usually interfered with the brunette’s natural aroma. The smell was subtle, but Betty had the fragrance of grass and earth coming from her, undoubtedly due to all of her time outside. It would seem that Betty was now of the earth because of her work.

Betty eventually ducked down and captured Vivian’s mouth with her own because she did not want to just sit there and do nothing. Besides, the way Vivian was touching her, hands and mouth like that, was almost too much to bear. She needed to do something, to return the feelings coursing through her thanks to beauty with her. They moved their kimonos off to the side and pressed close to each other with the desire to just feel flesh against flesh, to experience each other fully. They had not expected it to feel as glorious as it did, but that just fueled them to continue on.

“You’re amazing,” Betty whispered before returning to kiss Vivian. It never occurred to her that being intimate could feel like this. She had always considered it was something she could live without, but now she doubted that very much and they had hardly done anything.

They continued their kiss while being pressed together, forgetting there was a world beyond each other. They tasted each other deeper than ever before, realizing nothing tasted better in the world to them than each other. Every now and then, a small moan would escape Vivian, which pleased Betty’s ears. Betty moaned less often, but heavier than Vivian, which made Vivian proud, knowing she could get such a response from a well-trained warrior who could control herself in every situation, except for when she was being kissed by Vivian it would seem.

“I need you,” Vivian murmured.

“I need you as well,” Betty admitted, which made sparks burn down Vivian’s spine.

The couple mostly rubbed each other early on as they touched naked forms, but it turned into caressing as time passed. They were not too sure on how much petting they should do or where it should be done, but they shyly went to explore body parts, careful in case they were going to be reprimanded for their journeys. Those admonishments never came, of course and never would. It all felt too much like heaven for either of them to dare speak a word that would end the outstanding treatment.

“I could touch you all day,” Betty admitted. She would never leave this bed if Vivian were always there. She would never want for clothes either if Vivian were always there.

“Yes,” Vivian hissed, feeling quite the same.

But, all of the touching was only served to make them hotter. It also did not satisfy any part of them as far as physical need went. It was hard to think with so much want raging through them like a wild fire, so they were not sure how to relieve the ever-increasing pressure. In fact, all of the touching and need made it harder to think.

Betty’s mind focused enough to figure out how to approach the situation. The ninja now had a plan and went with it first by asking herself what did she do when she was alone and thinking of Vivian? Well, she was just going to do that to Vivian.

Vivian was startled when a calloused finger slid against her. She yelped and nearly pulled away because of her surprise, but held still. Betty froze. Maybe this was not such a good idea.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve asked,” Betty said quickly.

“Please,” Vivian whimpered.

“I’m so sorry.” Betty was about to move.

“No!” Vivian quickly caught her hand.

This was too delicious for Vivian and she needed Betty to stay right where she was located. Betty stared at her, needing to be certain. Vivian locked eyes with her and Betty could see the fire there while feeling the warmth of her beloved.

“Please, touch me. Be with me, take me, claim me,” Vivian begged.

“I will,” Betty promised, pressing against Vivian more. She groaned from the feel of Vivian and her fingers moved on their own.

Vivian whimpered and moaned. She wanted more pressure, but Betty really had a tough time getting things just right, not just in pressure, but speed also because she had never done what she was doing to anyone, aside from herself anyway. She did enough for Vivian to fall against her breathless, even though it took longer than it should have, as far as Vivian was concerned anyway, which would change in the future.

Had Vivian had the presence of mind to move with the warrior or at least voice what she wanted to happen, the outcome might have been sooner, but she had been too wrapped up in what was happening to think that far. It did not matter to her, anyway. The main thing was that she was physically intimate with Betty in someway and that Betty had just rocked her world.

Having Vivian atop her, panting and sated apparently, made Betty feel a swell of pride. She was certain no one had ever gotten this reaction from Vivian. She would definitely work to become better and get stronger reactions from her love.

Betty leaned down and kissed Vivian’s forehead while she gathered herself from her trip over the edge. The geisha looked quite adorable when she was flushed and trembling, Betty thought. It was also rather pleasant to have Vivian’s full breasts pressing up against her as she gasped for air to help calm down, the warrior noted.

When Vivian felt the kiss to her head, she tilted her head up to kiss Betty on the lips. It went from a simple peck to a much deeper embrace. During the enthusiastic kiss, Vivian reached down to return the favor that Betty had just done her. Betty gasped. Just a simple touch was a million times better than what her own fingers could do.

“Is it all right?” Vivian asked.

“Perfect,” Betty purred.

Vivian smiled and kissed Betty again. Vivian found herself with a similar problem as Betty, but she got the one-eyed woman across the finish line just the same. It was a beautiful sight, watching Betty bow slightly and sigh in delight.

In the end, they were actually a bit frustrated as far as their bodies were concerned, even though they had gained some reprieve from their loving efforts. Their nerves were still on edge and their muscles felt like they were tied in knots, but they were too spent for the moment to attempt correcting their problems. They lay still on the futon with Vivian resting on top of Betty. They both had the same thoughts, which were that they needed to do it again and again until they got it right… and even then they had to do it some more, when they could move again anyway.

“I love you,” Betty said, fingers going through Vivian’s hair.

“I love you as well. Why did we wait so long to show it in this manner?” Vivian pondered.

It was their first time trying anything like that. For almost four years, they had been mostly satisfied with kissing and fully clothed caressing as far as physicality went in their relationship. They never really had the chance for something quite like what they had just done. There was always the risk that someone could walk in on them, be it Betty’s husband at the time or Vivian’s geisha mother, the first one more than the second considering Wanda had the decency to request if she could enter a room before doing so. So, they had never even thought about touching each other in such a manner really because they did not want to frustrate themselves, but now, they had gone past the horizon and they were never, ever going back. They would perfect their new activity for it to reflect exactly how they felt about each other. 

“When should I get you home?” Betty asked Vivian curiously, her fingers dancing lightly across the small of Vivian’s back now. The geisha was close to purring from the attention. 

“Probably before nightfall,” Vivian answered while trying to cuddle close to her beloved.

“Well, that gives us a few hours to get this right,” Betty remarked with a lecherous grin and then she surprised Vivian with a kiss.

-*-(End of flashback)-*-

Betty and Vivian entered Vivian’s room, which was expectedly neat, including her usual tinker toys that were set up in rows in the corner. The room was a moderate size and was dominated by parts for Vivian’s hobby, but they were stowed away in a couple of trunks. The walls of the room had been decorated with woodland scenes with birds, each of which represented one of Vivian’s geisha. The bed was set up against the wall in a clean corner and was ready for them. It would seem she anticipated Betty staying with her for the night.

The one-eyed woman laughed to herself. Vivian knew her too well, which she did not mind in the slightest. Vivian was the only person she trusted completely with herself anyway. 

The couple went to the bed and sat down almost as if it was a ceremony they went through. They were dressed in plain white yukatas, like they planned to just go to sleep, but that was far from the case. They just liked the anticipation and sensual nature that came along with peeling each other out of clothing, which they got to in no time. There was something about the sight and feel of it that was just tantalizing for them.

“I’m happy you decided to stay,” Vivian said.

Betty reached out, caressing her love’s cheek. “You know I would stay more often if I could.”

“I know.” Vivian leaned forward, giving Betty a small kiss, which evolved into so much more.

The couple shared a deep kiss while methodically taking off each other’s garments, almost like they were unwrapping unexpected gifts, which might explain why they had tied their obis in such big bows. The pair removed the belts at the same time and then brushed the cloth from their shoulders with enough pressure to be tracing down the other’s limbs as they got rid of the clothing. They only pulled away from each other to discard the robes. 

“You do know I never tire of the sight of your body,” Vivian commented with a smile. Even now, Betty was cut with hard lines of muscles and scars that demanded to be kissed.

“I understand the sentiment,” Betty replied. Her hands itched for the soft curves of her beloved.

Once the two were completely bare, they came in close for skin contact. The instant they felt each other, they both cooed. Their kiss continued while they pressed against each other as if they were trying to fuse together. Their flesh seemed to be glad for the meeting. It felt like their skin was being treated to a dip in a cool spring on a scorching day.

Their hands wandered their bodies in a professional manner, knowing just where to go and what to do when they arrived there. They were hungry for each other, but controlled themselves for the most part, not tearing at each other like they truly wanted to. The tender, deep caressing caused the pair to moan, Vivian’s were low, like a whimper, and more often while Betty’s were throaty and longer. The noises got louder and louder as time marched on, soon their voices drowned out the sound of their now sweat-covered bodies rubbing together.

Betty made the first move forward, going from Vivian’s mouth to her neck. She licked and sucked at the slightly pale flesh of the blond as if it was the sweetest substance on the planet. Her skin was close to milky because she spent most of her time indoors and her lover practically drank her in, every bit of her, wanting to leave her mark.

Vivian cried out when Betty’s lips came in contact with her throat and she held the older female to her for a long moment. Betty suckled her flesh almost as if she was trying to draw blood without making a puncture mark. It took her nearly a minute to push Betty away, which was expected.

“You know better,” Vivian said, having a hard time sounding like she was scolding her love when she was breathing so raggedly. “I’m the one that’s supposed to take care of you,” she remarked while lightly shoving Betty back.

The one-eyed female feigned like the blow held a lot of force and fell back against the mattress, which was what Vivian wanted from her. The blue-eyed beauty then crawled over Betty and smiled at her. Betty smiled back a bit, returning the expression because she was happy to be with Vivian and, well, she was enjoying the view above her.

“Love you,” Vivian whispered, as if she was telling a secret. There was glazed over look in her blue eyes. She was hazy from Betty’s treatment, but was quite aware of what she desired to do. 

“You have to. After all, I’m still alive,” Betty remarked with a small laugh.

“And if you want to stay that way, you’d better visit me more often,” Vivian stated soundly and seriously.

“I’ll consider it. Now, are you going to kiss me or am I going to have to go home?” Betty teased, as if she would dare go home when she had a naked Vivian on top of her. She would sooner cut her own legs off than to leave such a perfect situation to return to a lonely manor.

Vivian smirked. “Like I’d let you leave.” 

Vivian leaned down and kissed Betty on the mouth while her hands went back to wantonly wandering the tanned body underneath her. Betty was not inactive and affectionately rubbed her hands up and down the length of Vivian’s slightly rough back; the condition of her back was due to the beatings that she had taken when she was a maiko. Betty did not mind the marks, except for the fact that they reminded her that her love had once been abused and she had not been able to do anything about it, which tended to cause a moment of dull pain to course through her. 

There was no room for pain in the warrior’s system at the moment, though. Pleasure occupied every empty space in her body. Vivian started to rock on top of her in rhythm with Betty’s hands. The motion caused Betty to groan in pleasure as their bodies met like the tide and shore on a tranquil day.

After a few minutes, Vivian decided to descend. She slowly moved down Betty’s body, kissing her way to Betty’s neck, her lush breasts pressing delightfully against Betty’s bottom ribs. Vivian kissed and licked at Betty’s throat with loving care, thoroughly enjoying the salty taste of her beloved for a few seconds before continuing on, wanting to be at another destination as soon as she could. 

When she made it to Betty’s torso, she paused in the valley of Betty’s breasts and placed an exceptionally wet and adoring kiss there before moving onto the left mound. Her hand affectionately massaged the right hill while her mouth took care of the left, appreciating the taste like a starving person appreciated a meal. Her love shuddered in ecstasy beneath her. Vivian could practically feel Betty’s heart racing, which only egged her on, prompting her touch to become deeper and her mouth to be greedier. It seemed as if she was trying to take all of the fleshy cushion into her small mouth.

“Oh, yes,” Betty moaned, hand going through Vivian’s hair. This only made Vivian want more of her beloved. 

“You like this?” Vivian teased, tongue flicking Betty’s nipple.

“You know I do,” Betty replied. Vivian smiled because, of course, she knew. It had taken her a while, but she knew.

Vivian was actually a bit embarrassed as she thought about how long it had taken her and Betty to think of touching such sensitive areas on each other when they started having carnal relations. It was hard to believe that they were both highly intelligent, she thought. As Betty’s deep moaning and writhing persisted, Vivian decided she wanted to hear more noise from her beloved. So, she latched on to the dusty pink peak of the mound in her mouth and added a great deal of suction. She got the result she wanted; Betty screamed and arched into her mouth for more. 

Vivian snickered to herself as Betty tried to get herself under control more from habit than anything else. Her body was automatically attempting to come down, but her love would have none of that and Vivian persisted in her task. The warrior was panting now while Vivian suckled her as if she held the essence of life. Betty bit her lip and hissed in pleasure as the pressure increased, arching again, silently pleading for more.

“Don’t stop,” Betty begged in a long breath. 

Vivian smirked to herself. Why in the world would she even think about stopping? She loved it when she made Betty cry out and shiver in pure ecstasy underneath her. She thoroughly enjoyed making her mate lose control. She loved that she could make Betty feel so good on so many levels, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually when it came to them being together as they were. All she desired to do was make Betty continue to react, so she switched peaks and gave the right hill the same attention that its match had just gotten.

Betty whimpered in spite of herself, wanting so badly to holler to the heavens, but her body maintaining its usual restraint involuntarily. This only made her beloved work harder. Betty was fighting a losing battle seconds in.

Vivian began to inch her way further down as far as her mouth was concerned. She eased her unoccupied hand onto the area that she left behind, kneading the soft skin as if she was making dough. Betty cried out again and her back arched like a broken branch when Vivian got to her destination, actually pulling away from the blue-eyed woman because of the move. Vivian just pulled her love back to her and then put a lot of vigor into her new task of kissing her love’s sweet spot. The move was another thing that it took them a while to think to do to each other. 

It had taken the couple almost ten sessions together to think to kiss below the waist. It was something that was so out of the norm for them back then, which was why it took so long to come to mind. Now, they actually could not get enough of such actions, loving the way the other tasted and practically gulping the other down when they got the chance. They were very greedy, they often thought, but neither would ever complain.

Vivian groaned along with Betty as she took her lover into her mouth. By the gods, she missed this. She missed the smell and taste of Betty. More than that, she missed this connection. In this moment where she felt like she took Betty’s soul and spirit into her and they were somehow the same person, infinitely tied together, bound in red thread. _She makes me a poet when she’s writhing against me_.

Vivian glanced up to catch a glimpse of Betty’s reaction to her delightful work while continuing to drink from the one-eyed woman’s body as if she was dying of thirst. Betty bit her knuckle to prevent herself from screaming again, her teeth were clamped down to the point it was surprising she did not break the skin. As Vivian continued on, lapping and gulping from her love as if she was a cool stream, Betty cut her knuckle, but her brain did not even register the metallic taste as her blood dripping onto her tongue. Instead, she moaned and whined, body controlled by Vivian’s tongue.

Vivian could tell the exact moment her beloved went over the edge. It was the moment Betty surrendered and her hand dropped out of her mouth. The brunette practically shrieked all the way down. Vivian only smirked to herself, like a sly cat.

Vivian watched as Betty’s magnificent chest rose and fell as she filled her lungs with air. It was quite the pleasant sight and she smiled like a happy child while viewing the action. Betty pulled Vivian back up to her as she caught her breath. They kissed as soon as they were face to face and the next thing Vivian knew, she was on her back. It was her turn to be treated to such pleasure and Betty’s turn to feast on her breathtaking form. 

“Well,” Vivian teased.

Betty smirked, but pretended to have no idea what her lover wanted. “Well what?” 

“Are you going to just admire the view?”

“I should like to do so for a while, yes.”

Vivian pouted. “And after I treated you so well.” 

“But, isn’t that your duty?”

“Just wait until I get my fan.”

Betty chuckled at the threat, but could not tease anymore. She wasted no time on her task. Her hand buried itself between Vivian’s legs, drawing out a long moan from Vivian. Betty was attached her hand and mouth to both of her breasts, not giving Vivian a chance to do anything other than experience what was going on. Vivian was a quivering mass of moaning flesh within seconds and crying out Betty’s name in under a minute. Such a reaction was typical of the couple.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes.” Vivian gripped Betty’s short hair, encouraging her. 

Betty moaned a little against Vivian’s breast, enjoying Vivian’s little tug to her hair. Vivian drowned her sounds out, though. She eased a finger into Vivian, causing her to arch. Enjoying the reaction, Betty worked Vivian up a little more and then pushed a second finger into her.

“Yes!” Vivian keened. 

Vivian muttered while her lover turned her inside out as far as she was concerned. She was not saying anything of value; most of the things that left her mouth were not even real words. Every part of her body was just overloaded from the sweet sensation of having the brunette touching her, tasting her, loving her. She was certain that if she could experience the feeling everyday, she would and it would end up being the death of her and she would not give a damn. She would not die smiling, but panting and screaming at the height on ecstasy. 

“I love being inside of you, nikko-chan. Do you love me?” Betty asked before nipping at Vivian’s breast.

“You know I do,” Vivian moaned with her hand still in Betty’a hair.

Betty smiled. “I know.” She moved her thumb to press against Vivian’s pleasure center, but found this was not enough. Yes, being inside of Vivian was amazing, but she needed more after being apart for so long. 

By the time Betty moved downward, Vivian had tears streaming down her eyes from the enchanting sensation washing over her body like large raindrops and she was caught in a storm thanks to the care of her warrior. Vivian could not believe what Betty could do to her most of the time, how Betty could make her lose control so easily, but she loved her all the more for it. To her, it showed how much Betty cared by taking the time to learn which areas to go to in order for her to receive enough pleasure that all of her barriers collapsed like brittle crackers in no time flat.

“Yes!” Vivian cried out as Betty’s tongue joined her fingers. Then, it did not take long at all.

Vivian tossed her back rather violently as she reached the end of the line, her body twitching as if her nerves had lost all control. Betty actually disliked that she did that often because on a few occasions Vivian had banged her head pretty hard, sometimes missing the mat altogether and hitting the hardwood floor or wall, and one time she even bit her tongue to the point of bleeding. She was fine this time though, especially when Betty crawled back up her body to give her a sweet kiss on the cheek and rested her forehead against Vivian’s as if to connect their thoughts. _I love you_.

The pair stayed like that for a few moments, just staring at each other with intense, but soft eyes. And then, Betty wordlessly and courteously rolled over onto her back. Vivian rolled with her, settling onto of the brunette. She made herself comfortable on Betty’s thigh and snuggled her thigh between Betty’s legs. She smiled at Betty, who just had to smile back.

Vivian leaned down to kiss her beloved on the mouth while moving her hips against Betty’s, grinding against her. Tan met cream in a sleek, sensual motion, causing both parties to moan and shudder together. Betty’s hands settled on Vivian’s ass, pulling her closer. They moved together like a perfectly designed dance, holding onto each other as if they needed the other’s touch to stay alive, even though they felt like they were connected at all parts. 

Most of their night was spent caressing and grinding against each other, reveling in the feel of the other, reminding each other how close they really were. Just because a month had passed since they last saw each other did not mean anything. They could still move as one, feel as one, and connect as one. They could still touch each other’s soul with a simple look and make the other’s day with a gentle caress. They still meant the world to each other.

When they were both spent, Vivian fell on top of Betty and stayed there. Betty was always her mattress when they shared a night together. As far as Vivian was concerned, there was no better resting place than where she was at the moment and Betty would not want Vivian anywhere else than where she was right now. Vivian covered them with a blanket and they exchanged one last passionate before bidding each other good night. They fell into a deep sleep that could only be brought on by being around each other.

-8-8-8-8-

Betty woke up as she heard birds chirping quite loudly in her opinion. _Damn inconsiderate birds_. She yawned and then glanced to her side where a certain blond was curled up against her body, resting peacefully. Her hair poured over the bed as if it had been spilled from a water jug and there was a small, satisfied smile on her face, undoubtedly a leftover expression from the night before. _She’s so cute_ , Betty thought while drawing her lover closer to her.

Betty looked around her room while just enjoying being close to Vivian. She absently caressed Vivian’s torso and listened to Vivian breathe while also feeling the process taking place against her body. She waited patiently for almost a half-hour before Vivian began to stir. She whimpered like a little puppy when she was waking up, which Betty also thought was cute. And when those water-colored eyes opened, it felt like the warmth of the sun shone on Betty. 

“Morning…” Vivian greeted her beloved in an adorably small voice.

“Morning to you,” Betty replied in a low tone of her own, knowing from experience that waking up to something loud was irritating. 

An impish smile took over Vivian’s sleepy features. “Any chance of making it a _good_ morning?”

“There’s always a chance for that.”

Vivian grinned, which caused Betty to smile before going in for a tender, but deep kiss. They were already nude from the night before, but it would have been nice in their opinions to be able to undress the other. Still, they were just going to have to live without that and be happy with their morning passion, which they were.

Once they were both sated for the moment, they went to get cleaned up. They dressed for the day, the usual dark blue hakama for Betty and a lilac colored kimono for Vivian. They then went to have breakfast, which were served by giggling and blushing maids. The noise got Vivian laughing, too, because she knew what the joke was.

“You’re all filthy perverts, you know that?” Betty barked with a scowl. How horrible did it look for the master of the house to have the servants laughing at her in front of her beloved to make matters worse? 

“But, Director-sama, you were the one screaming ‘kami-sama, I’m there’ all morning,” one of the older, more daring servants pointed out.

Betty snorted like a mad bull and waved the servant off. “Just go away,” she huffed because she did not have a better comeback.

Vivian laughed even more because of her beloved’s anger that she had been heard that morning. Vivian did not care that she had to be heard, too, if Betty was because she was often much louder than the warrior. It did not bother her because she had enjoyed herself and, well, the servants did not make fun of her like they did their master. They also knew they could get away with teasing Betty about it because she was suddenly in an eternal good mood.

After breakfast, the couple went to walk in the garden for a while. They talked about nothing really, how nice the clear sky was, how beautifully the flowers were growing in, and how some weird cat kept managing to sneak back into the manor after being put out. Once the walk was done, they went to sit on the veranda for a while and continued talking about nothing. Betty volunteered to put that cat out its misery if it came back into the house, which earned her a scolding from her lover for saying such cruel things.

Sometime during the day, Vivian started doing a flower arrangement to keep busy while Betty went through some katas to stay in shape. The one-eyed female went through the motions in a small open area while Vivian sat on the veranda, doing her flower arrangement. Betty was done before her lover and sat down next to Vivian on the wooden deck.

“You should do flower arrangement sometime,” Vivian commented out of the blue.

“Why?” Betty inquired. She knew how to do it, but she would sooner bang her head against a rock than actually show off her “skill.”

“It’s soothing. It would do your nerves some good,” Vivian answered as if it was obvious and to her, it was.

“I thought that’s why I kept you around,” Betty remarked with a smile.

Vivian laughed a little and looked coyly at her beloved. “Is that all you keep me around for? I’ve been under the impression you loved me, yet I’m actually just some object here to relax you?”

“You made yourself that way,” the brunette replied with a teasing smirk.

Vivian did not counter that line, but she did jump on Betty, knocking her to the floor. Betty yelped, actually surprised by the maneuver, while Vivian smiled in triumph over her love. Betty stared at the blond, looking more amused than anything else, even though she had just been easily defeated. She just supposed it was a good thing Vivian was on her side. She reached up and pushed some of Vivian’s silky hair out of her face.

“You’re so playful recently,” Betty pointed out, resting her hand on her lover’s soft cheek, enjoying the feel of the smooth skin on her contrastingly rough palm. 

“It’s because I like being here with you. I’ve wanted this for almost as long as I’ve known you,” Vivian answered in a nearly dreamy tone.

“Me, too,” Betty confessed plainly and easily. 

Vivian smiled again and leaned down for a short kiss. After that, she got back up and went to her flower arrangement. Betty sat back up for a while and watched, but quickly grew bored.

“I think I should go clean up. I’m covered in sweat from my workout,” Betty announced.

Vivian glanced over at her. “Well, you should do that.”

Betty brow furrowed. “You’re going to stay here with the flowers?” She did not expect that.

“Well, I’m not done yet,” Vivian pointed out. “Of course, you might need some help.”

“I might need some help?” Betty smirked. This was more like it.

“Yes. I could wash your back for you,” Vivian offered.

Betty conceded and got her back washed by Vivian, a few times. Eventually, she had to wash Vivian’s back because they got off-track as they so often did. But, then again, this only got them farther off track.

In the late afternoon, they had a little bit of food, where Betty had to put up with jokes from her servants again. She threatened to have them all sent to her brother’s house if they did not shut up, but they knew she was lying. She would not get rid of them. They were all too loyal, caring, and trusting for her to be rid of them and risk having new servants brought in, especially since those new servants were not likely to appreciate her relationship with Vivian.

The pair ate in silence, just enjoying being together and their meal, especially when the servant stopped acting like Betty was a big joke. When they were done eating, Vivian went to go mess with a tinker toy that she was creating while Betty sat in the corner, reading a book. They spent the rest of the day like that, which was fine by them.

When nighttime blanketed the city, the couple decided to go out rather than continue sitting around the house. They saw a show together and ate dinner at a restaurant. It worked out well since Betty did not have to deal with her servants once more. They had a rather good time, as they always did when they were out together.

It was great being able to go out together. They wished that they had been able to do it sooner in life, but they did not think about it. They could do it now and that was what mattered. They had the rest of their lives ahead of them to do it too, which was a prospect that almost induced a grin on both of their faces, but they restrained themselves.

They returned home rather late at night, but a few servants were still awake to just make sure that they made it in and also help in case they came in drunk. They were both a little red in the face, indicating they had had something to drink while they were out, but they were not totally messed up. They easily made it to the bedroom on their own where the bed was already made and waiting for them.

They fell unceremoniously onto the futon, Betty landing first intentionally to break Vivian’s fall. They worked their way out of their clothing and were not too drunk to make love that night. They doubted they would ever be so intoxicated that it would slip their minds to be physically intimate with each other when they lay down. Once they were spent, Vivian made herself comfortable on top of Betty as usual and they fell into a deep sleep.

-*-(Next day)-*-

Betty woke up and immediately looked around. The surroundings were not of her room, but Vivian’s dwelling. She sighed as she looked down at Vivian, who was now resting against her side and using her shoulder as a pillow. _It must’ve been a dream_ , she concluded, remembering the vivid scenes that apparently her brain concocted through the night. It had to have been a dream; why else would Vivian have been living with her and she not thinking about work?

Betty actually found herself wishing it had not been a dream as she stared down at how content Vivian looked against her; Vivian was having a pleasant dream, too. _I could see that look every day if only I could walk away from my job_ , the warrior told herself. It was so tempting. She sighed while reaching down to brush Vivian’s golden locks to the side to give herself a better view of her love.

Too bad it was not the time for that. They just were not ready for what Betty dreamed, it seemed. They had so many other things to worry about. It was not something they would say out loud or even in their own minds, but they knew that to be the truth. Who knew when they would be ready to settle down together. They could only hope they would know when the time was right, when everything was in the proper order.

Betty’s attention focused solely on Vivian as her eyes fluttered open. Vivian smiled at the wonderful sight that she got to wake up to. She snuggled up closer to Betty, making a content sound. Betty pulled her close.

They might part in a few hours or in a few days, but for the moment they were together. They had each other and maybe one day, they would have each other always. Right now, they had learned to be utterly pleased with what was happening in the present. They had duties that meant a lot to them and they understood that, which was why they never truly pressed the other to change.

They had each other right now and that was what happened, that was always what happened. They would continue on with their lives, but one day maybe their relationship would take center stage instead of playing in the background to their responsibilities to everyone else. But, they did have their moment, their little slice of heaven.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, please, check out some of my other works. For now, I’m returning to my padded room. Thanks again. I appreciate the support.

Bonus comic by [YogurthFrost](http://yogurthfrost.deviantart.com/): [Chibi - Late Tea Time](http://yogurthfrost.deviantart.com/art/Chibi-Late-Tea-time-54174762) (show some love and leave him a comment at deviantart).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see more of my fanfics, they're all at FFN under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fanfiction.net/~starvinglunatic). If you wanna see some original stories, you can look at FP under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/576301/).


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